Mr. Thompson,
Simple question.
Later this year I am traveling internationally. Should I like it where I am going and decide to stay, do you believe there is any chance I could stay there unmolested by the local authorities? Well, not just stay there unmolested, but also use their services free of charge?
If we cannot do it in other countries, why can there people do it here?
Logical dissonance. You and Mr. Bush are woefully out of touch with the expectations of the American people. Simple expectations really- uphold the Constitution and defend our borders.
Dear Mr. Thompson:
With reference to the immigration bill, allow us to respond.
NO.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your Base
Build the fence.Deport the illegals. Enforce the LAW Mr. President.
We the people BUMP!
The short answer to this is that there are employer penalties in place now that are simply not enforced. Why does the White House think that anyone would believe that new laws would be enforced when current laws are ignored? Words on a piece paper do nothing. They are worthless.
The White House has failed to listen to the voters. So now they think we can believe them.
BS
Stop the New World (B)order!
Mr Thompson, welcome. I have been a reader of Free Republic for a number of years, and finally decided to register to voice my opinion on this immigration fiasco, as I just can no longer stand the position of the White House and many members of congress on this issue. The bottom line here is why can we trust you to carry out any provisions of the proposed legislation, when you have totally failed to enforce existing law. The White House has lost any credibility, and the confidence of the American people.
I hope he reads the FR comments and gets an idea what his former constituency is thinking.
Here’s a list of key Senate contacts for EVERYONE to email regarding immigration. Many offices are putting calls straight to voicemail and they can just trash faxes (and letters take weeks to get through due to security). Let’s hit Hill staff where they are so codependent - their Blackberries. Send email directly to staff - not just the
generic Senator’s mailbox. Contact their Chief of Staff, Legislative Director, and Press Secretary. Make your voice heard!!
Make sure you cut and paste the email addresses, instead of just clicking on them, as the HTML is only picking up half the email address (for some reason it cuts off the first name of the recipients).
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Chief of Staff
tom_ingram@alexander.senate.gov
Legislative Director
david_morgenstern@alexander.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
scot_montrey@alexander.senate.gov
lee_pitts@alexander.senate.gov
Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO)
Chief of Staff
sean_conway@allard.senate.gov
Legislative Director
charles_cogar@allard.senate.gov
Communications Director
laura_condeluci@allard.senate.gov
Press Secretary
steve_wymer@allard.senate.gov
Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Chief of Staff
maryjane_collipriest@bennett.senate.gov
Legislative Director
mark_morrison@bennett.senate.gov
Press Secretary
emily_christensen@bennett.senate.gov
Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO)
Chief of Staff
brian_klippenstein@bond.senate.gov
Legislative Director
kara_smith@bond.senate.gov
Communications Director
shana_marchio@bond.senate.gov
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Chief of Staff
glen_chambers@brownback.senate.gov
Domestic Policy Advisor
brian_robertson@brownback.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
john_rankin@brownback.senate.gov
brian_hart@brownback.senate.gov
Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Chief of Staff
blake_brickman@bunning.senate.gov
Legislative Director
kim_dean@bunning.senate.gov
Press Secretary
mike_reynard@bunning.senate.gov
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)
Chief of Staff
alicia_peterson-clark@burr.senate.gov
alicia_petersonclark@burr.senate.gov
Legislative Director
Natasha_hickman@burr.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
laura_caudell@burr.senate.gov
mark_williams@burr.senate.gov
Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Chief of Staff
charlie_harmon@chambliss.senate.gov
Legislative Director – Monty Philpot
monty_philpot@chambliss.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
annelaurie_waters@chambliss.senate.gov
Angie_Lundberg@Chambliss.Senate.gov
Lindsay_mabry@chambliss.senate.gov
Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Chief of Staff
jenny_manley@cochran.senate.gov
Legislative Director
ta_hawks@cochran.senate.gov
Press Secretary
margaret_wicker@cochran.senate.gov
margaret_mcphillips@cochran.senate.gov
Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN)
Chief of Staff
Jennifer_lowe@coleman.senate.gov
Deputy Chief of Staff
lucia_lebens@coleman.senate.gov
Legislative Director
lorianne_moss@coleman.senate.gov
Communications Director
tom_steward@coleman.senate.gov
tom_stewart@coleman.senate.gov
Press Secretary
leroy_coleman@coleman.senate.gov
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME)
Chief of Staff
steve_abbott@collins.senate.gov
Deputy Chief of Staff
Marybeth_carozza@collins.senate.gov
Legislative Director
jane_alonso@collins.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
elissa_davidson@collins.senate.gov
jen_burita@collins.senate.gov
kevin_kelley@collins.senate.gov
Senator Bob Corker (R-TN)
Chief of Staff
todd_womack@corker.senate.gov
Legislative Director
paul_palagyi@corker.senate.gov
Press Secretary
laura_lefler@corker.senate.gov
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)
Chief of Staff
peter_olson@cornyn.senate.gov
Legislative Director
russ_thomasson@cornyn.senate.gov
Counsel
chip_roy@judiciary.senate.gov
matthew_johnson@judiciary.senate.gov
Ramona_mcgee@judiciary.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
brian_walsh@cornyn.senate.gov
don_stewart@cornyn.senate.gov
john_drogin@cornyn.senate
Senator Larry Craig (R-ID)
Chief of Staff
mike_ware@craig.senate.gov
Legislative Director
brooke_roberts@craig.senate.gov
Senior Policy Advisor
travis_jones@craig.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
dan_whiting@craig.senate.gov
Senator Michael Crapo (R-ID)
Chief of Staff
peter_fischer@crapo.senate.gov
pete_fischer@crapo.senate.gov
Legislative Director
Kenneth_flanz@crapo.senate.gov
Senior Policy Advisor
staci_lancaster@crapo.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
susan_wheeler@crapo.senate.gov
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Chief of Staff
bret_bernhardt@demint.senate.gov
Legislative Director
matt_hoskins@demint.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
Wesley_denton@demint.senate.gov
Senator Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
Chief of Staff
greg_gross@dole.senate.gov
Legislative Director
al_garesche@dole.senate.gov
General Counsel
ryan_meyers@dole.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
Katie_norman@dole.senate.gov
Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Chief of Staff
steve_bell@domenici.senate.gov
Legislative Director
edward_hild@domenici.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
chris_gallegos@domenici.senate.gov
Immigration LA
tara_shaw@domenici.senate.gov
Senator John Ensign (R-NV)
Chief of Staff
john_lopez@ensign.senate.gov
Legislative Director
pam_thiessen@ensign.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
tory_mazzola@ensign.senate.gov
jack_finn@ensign.senate.gov
don_tatro@ensign.senate.gov
Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Chief of Staff
flip_mcconnaughey@enzi.senate.gov
Legislative Director
randi_reid@enzi.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
coy_knobel@enzi.senate.gov
elly_pickett@enzi.senate.gov
Immigration LA
wendy_gnehm@enzi.senate.gov
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Chief of Staff
richard_perry@lgraham.senate.gov
Legislative Director
jennifer_olson@lgraham.senate.gov
jen_olson@lgraham.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
wes_hickman@lgraham.senate.gov
kevin_bishop@lgraham.senate.gov
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Chief of Staff
david_young@grassley.senate.gov
Legislative Director
kolan_davis@grassley.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
jill_kozney@grassley.senate.gov
beth_pellett_levine@grassley.senate.gov
Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Chief of Staff
joel_maiola@gregg.senate.gov
Legislative Director
nancy_perkins@gregg.senate.gov
General Counsel
christopher_gahan@gregg.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
erin_rath@gregg.senate.gov
Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
Chief of Staff
louann_linehan@hagel.senate.gov
Legislative Director
paul_kong@hagel.senate.gov
General Counsel
steve_taylor@hagel.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
mike_buttry@hagel.senate.gov
jordan_stark@hagel.senate.gov
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Chief of Staff
patricia_knight@hatch.senate.gov
Legislative Director
jace_johnson@hatch.senate.gov
Deputy LD
chris_campbell@hatch.senate.gov
Counsel
bill_castle@hatch.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
peter_carr@hatch.senate.gov
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Chief of Staff
marc_short@hutchison.senate.gov
Legislative Director
matthew_acock@hutchison.senate.gov
james_christoferson@hutchison.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
jamie_loftus@hutchison.senate.gov
geoff_embler@hutchison.senate.gov
General Counsel
beto_cardenas@hutchison.senate.gov
Senator James Inhofe (R-OK)
Chief of Staff
glenn_powell@inhofe.senate.gov
Legislative Director
aloysius_hogan@inhofe.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
ryan_thompson@inhofe.senate.gov
Immigration LA
john_bonsell@inhofe.senate.gov
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Chief of Staff
heath_garrett@isakson.senate.gov
Legislative Counsel
glee_smith@isakson.senate.gov
Senior LA
michael_quiello@isakson.senate.gov
Senior Policy Advisor/Communications Director
joan_kirchner@isakson.senate.gov
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Chief of Staff
tim_glazewski@kyl.senate.gov
Legislative Director
elizabeth_maier@kyl.senate.gov
Chief Counsel
Stephen_higgins@judiciary.senate.gov
Judiciary Counsel
joe_matal@judiciary.senate.gov
Legislative Counsel
lucy_murfitt@kyl.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
Andrew_wilder@kyl.senate.gov
Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)
Chief of Staff
bret_boyles@lott.senate.gov
Legislative Director
jim_sartucci@lott.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
susan_irby@lott.senate.gov
nick_simpson@lott.senate.gov
Legislative Counsel
hugh_gamble@lott.senate.gov
National Security Advisor
mitch_waldman@lott.senate.gov
Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN)
Chief of Staff
marty_morris@lugar.senate.gov
Legislative Director
chris_geeslin@lugar.senate.gov
Deputy LD
joe_o’donnell@lugar.senate.gov
Senior LA
Shellie_bressler@lugar.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
andy_fisher@lugar.senate.gov
Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Chief of Staff
john_little@martinez.senate.gov
Legislative Director
michael_zehr@martinez.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
ken_lundberg@martinez.senate.gov
Senator John McCain (R-AZ)
Chief of Staff
vacant
Legislative Director
ann_begeman@mccain.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
eileen_mcmenamin@mccain.senate.gov
andrea_jones@mccain.senate.gov
Counsel
lee_dunn@mccain.senate.gov
Senior LA
chris_paul@mccain.senate.gov
Judiciary LA
joe_donoghue@mccain.senate.gov
Foreign Affairs LA
richard_fontaine@mccain.senate.gov
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Chief of Staff
billy_piper@mcconnell.senate.gov
Legislative Director
scott_raab@mcconnell.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
robert_steurer@mcconnell.senate.gov
julie_adams@mcconnell.senate.gov
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Chief of Staff
donna_murray@murkowski.senate.gov
Legislative Director
Isaac_edwards@murkowski.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
danielle_holland@murkowski.senate.gov
kristin_pugh@murkowski.senate.gov
Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Chief of Staff
Jackie_cottrell@roberts.senate.gov
Legislative Director
mike_seyfert@roberts.senate.gov
Deputy LD
Jennifer_swenson@roberts.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
sarah_little@roberts.senate.gov
molly_mueller@roberts.senate.gov
Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Chief of Staff
rick_dearborn@sessions.senate.gov
Legislative Director
alan_hanson@sessions.senate.gov
Chief Counsel
cindy_hayden@sessions.senate.gov
Deputy Counsel
charles_campbell@sessions.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
michael_brumas@sessions.senate.gov
emily_mathis@sessions.senate.gov
Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Chief of Staff
vacant
Legislative Director
laura_friedel@shelby.senate.gov
Office Manager
anne_caldwell@shelby.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
katie_boyd@shelby.senate.gov
Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR)
Chief of Staff
john_easton@gsmith.senate.gov
Legislative Director
rob_epplin@gsmith.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
rc_hammond@gsmith.senate.gov
Other Key Aides
beth_stewart@gsmith.senate.gov
dan_knezevic@gsmith.senate.gov
lori_prater@gsmith.senate.gov
Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Chief of Staff
john_richter@snowe.senate.gov
Legislative Director
ray_krncevic@snowe.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
jake_ward@snowe.senate.gov
david_snepp@snowe.senate.gov
Senior Policy Advisor
ginny_worrest@snowe.senate.gov
Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Chief of Staff
scott_hoeflich@specter.senate.gov
Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director
thomas_dower@specter.senate.gov
Legislative Counsel
seema_singh@specter.senate.gov
seema_singh@judiciary.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
vacant
Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)
Chief of Staff
george_lowe@stevens.senate.gov
Legislative Director
karina_waller@stevens.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
aaron_saunders@stevens.senate.gov
courtney_boone@stevens.senate.gov
steven_wackowski@stevens.senate.gov
Senator John Sununu (R-NH)
Chief of Staff
paul_collins@sununu.senate.gov
Legislative Director
mike_o’rielly@sununu.senate.gov
michael_o’reilly@sununu.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
barbara_riley@sununu.senate.gov
Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY)
seat is currently vacant due to Senator Thomas’ death.
Senator John Thune (R-SD)
Chief of Staff
m_zabel@thune.senate.gov
matthew_zabel@thune.senate.gov
Legislative Director
david_schwietert@thune.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
kyle_downey@thune.senate.gov
jessica_ferguson@thune.senate.gov
Senator David Vitter (R-LA)
Chief of Staff
kyle_ruckert@vitter.senate.gov
Legislative Director
tonya_newman@vitter.senate.gov
Legislative Counsel
wendy_fleming@vitter.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
joel_digrado@vitter.senate.gov
mac_abrams@vitter.senate.gov
Senator George Voinovich (R-OH)
Chief of Staff
phil_park@voinovich.senate.gov
Counsel
george_callas@voinovich.senate.gov
doug_dziak@voinovich.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
chris_paulitz@voinovich.senate.gov
Senator John Warner (R-VA)
Chief of Staff
ann_loomis@warner.senate.gov
Legislative Director
chris_yianilos@warner.senate.gov
Legislative Counsel
angela_stewart@warner.senate.gov
Senior LA
conrad_schatte@warner.senate.gov
Press Secretary/Communications Director
john_ullyot@warner.senate.gov
Make sure you cut and paste the email addresses, instead of just clicking on them, as the HTML is only picking up half the email address (for some reason it cuts off the first name of the recipients).
emails should look like this:
firstname_lastname@senatorslastname.senate.gov
MAKE SURE YOU CUT AND PASTE THE EMAILS OR THEY WON’T WORK!!!
That said, please tell the President the appropriate course of action is to secure the borders first, and only then to worry about what to do with the folks already here.
Respectfully, I have an additional suggestion...
One of the problems with an amnesty is that it encourages illegal immigration - - unless there is a cutoff day BEFORE the date of enactment of the bill.
I suggest, that if we were to permit an amnesty, it would be for illegals here on or before Sept 11, 2001 AND there would be immediate disqualification of anyone here illegally after that date.
Add this to some of the previous suggestions (build the fence, positively I.D. the illegals, NO anchor babies, NO emergency room services for routine med attention... etc) and you might get some serious FR support.
My highest regards - - (a Marine Dad)
Thanks so much for coming over for a chat. I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we appreciate the possibility of a meaningful dialog with the White House. I have a point or two to add:
I would like to point out that the Secretary is authorized to reduce or mitigate penalities against employers who in good faith are trying to comply with the law.
It is highly important to break the complicity of businesses in this matter.
I would suggest that a firm warning be transmitted via the press that the hammer is about to fall- Give a 6mo. or 1yr. grace period to allow business the time it needs to get "righteous", but thereafter I would expect serious enforcement.
I would then authorize an audit of permanent citizens nationwide, confirming I-9 and Social Security information on a case-by-case basis, be it federal or state/federal by design. Any SoSoc not confirmed by this process should be annulled. The purpose would be to refit and update employer/employee databases for the next logical step:
Each employer would be issued a PIN attatched to his FedID for the purpose of official identification over-the-phone or by the WEB. Each employee/citizen would be issued a PIN attached to his SoSoc for the same reason.
Thereafter, a simple phone call from an employer to a state or federal office would be sufficient to immediately confirm the eligibility of a prospective employee.
Likewise, upon being hired to a permanent position and within the first month, the new employee must call in to the same fed/state agency and declare himself to be himself by way of the issued PIN, and confirm any additional employers/jobs he might be tied to in the database. Any employers/jobs the employee denies would be turned over to authorities for investigation of the imposter.
The agency then would confirm that transaction with the new employer along with a transactional number as a receipt.
If the employee is not confirmed, the employer has the right to withhold payment of wage without fault, and the employment must be terminated.
This method puts the onus upon the government to certify the eligibility of the employed, as it should be. Provided that the employer called in, he cannot be held liable in any way. It also assures that any social security number is able to have ONE INSTANCE within the database, and removes the need for I-9, Nat'l Identity, or other forms.
Admittedly, this would not work for short-term workers unless hired through an employment agency... Short-term work has always been "cash" anyway, and is hard to track. But it is not where the good money is.
It also does not address the self-employed. That could be addressed by requiring insurance companies to confirm citizenship before issuing liability insurance to business entities (sole-prop, partners, or inc. officers). Contractors without insurance will perish in the service and construction industries.
Certainly, we understand that not all employers knowingly hire illegal immigrants; this will remain the case, especially before the bill’s new secure documentation requirements are fully phased in.
I can predict that your secure documents will be crap. Any document can be forged, and any chip can be hacked. Don't waste your time. Proving citizenship in voting and employment should require singular personal confirmation. the PIN system I suggest does that (and could be used in voting too, BTW).
We do not seek to wrongly penalize honest employers who unknowingly hire illegal immigrants, therefore we reserve the right to reduce or mitigate their penalties if the employer can show good faith compliance in following the law.
That statement is fine, as there can always be mistakes and a slap-on-the-hand can sometimes be enough. But please let me reiterate: I would expect serious enforcement.
A second issue:
I read that you work for Rove, and I suppose that your job (as is his) is to manage the "package". This includes a fair bit of salesmanship. Considering the obvious opposition to this bill, I can't imagine that y'all can't see the opportunity that this issue represents:
All conservatives don't want it.
The Unions don't want it.
The Blacks don't want it.
70% of Americans don't want this stinker.
Any salesman of any caliber should be able to see how to turn this sows ear into a silk purse. If handled properly, the man who rises against this bill and those who stand with him will OWN the next election.
That you (the Administration) choose not to take this obvious advantage leads me to question your motives.
There is no way that you are this tone deaf, and you need no bill to do what the people ask of you.
In conclusion, let me join the chorus:
Build the fence. Enforce the law. Deport abusers. No z-visas, no amnesty, no nothing-at-all until y'all get that done. I am not talking short-term here, I am talking 10 years of enforcement AFTER the border is completely controlled. If you'll do that, I expect that the rest will be easier to swallow when the time comes.
An immediate large scale military presence is needed on the border. Please include guns (and bullets) and the will to use them. Secure the border NOW or the next AQ attack will be on your heads. We will not forgive that.
Oh and BTW, Don't even start with that North American Union thing. The torches and pitchforks are close by and at the ready.
Thank you for your time.
-Bruce
NO—TO AMNESTY.
YES—TO A FENCE. It should have been built yesterday. Where is it?
We rate. :’)
Bump and bookmark. Glad to hear the WH’s radar is finally tuned into this site.
It is all a big smoke screen. A few public arrests for publicity reasons, while cities like Herndon, VA build publicly financed illegal alien day-labor centers, and that town in N.Y. agrees to stop asking people about their immigration status and pays their attorney fees to boot.
I will no longer support the presidents policies except the WOT, enough is enough.