An amnesty (Hagel-Martinez) passed in 2006 in the GOP controlled Senate, although Reps voted 32-23 against it. I have no doubt that an amnesty will pass in the Senate in 2013. Our only defense is the House, but I think that there may be enough Reps working with the Dems to pass it in the House--just like the fiscal cliff vote.
our side is pretty strong on securing the border first and unless we are wiling to believe that the obamba adm. will actually do that, which they never would in a million years, why would we ever agree to anything they want at all.
I am sure securing the border and enforcement of our laws will be part of the bill just like it was in the 2007 McCain-Kennedy bill. There will be phony benchmarks set just like the Secure Fence Act signed on to by Obama and Hillary. The other side is already saying our border is under control and you hear from people like George Will who puts out the false information that illegal immigration from Mexico has essentially stopped.
What they want is winning elections forever with more LIV voters that they can easily buy with our money. That's what it is all about. In the end they will get what obama wants even if he has to do it by EO which is what he probably has planned anyway.
No doubt that is the Dem strategy and it is working. Legal immigration amounts to 1.2 million annually. Two thirds at least will vote Democrat. 87% of the legal immigrants are minorities as defined by the USG. Minorities and immigrants vote overwhelmingly Democrat.
Obama already used an EO to pass a backdoor amensty--his version of the Dream Act that will legalize the status of 1.8 million. Barely a peep came from the Reps and some Reps have supported it. Obama should have been impeached for that alone.
Most of the American public have little knowledge of our current immigration policies or the impact of an amnesty. For most, it is legal immigration is good and illegal immigration is bad. The reality is that our legal immigration policies are killing this country and have been ever since the 1965 Immigration Act.
The truth is what you said we can not afford to take in illegals now knowing they will be a burden to the welfare system which is already so over booked, broken and abused its criminal. If the left wins on immigration perhaps our only hope for saving the country will be to reform the welfare system at every level and quickly.