Posted on 04/21/2013 10:04:45 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Durbin: Immigration bill will make us safer after Boston attack By Ben Goad - 04/21/13 12:15 PM ET
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) proclaimed Sunday that newly unveiled legislationto overhaul the nations immigration system would strengthen national security in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon attack.
Appearing on Meet the Press, Durbin (D-Ill.) said last weeks Boston bombings revealed a need for bolstered federal resources to prevent future attacks. But he said the contentious 844-page immigration bill would make strides toward greater national security.
Immigration reform will make us safer, and I hope that those that are critical of it will just come forward and say what their idea is, Durbin said.
Durbin is part of the Senates Gang of Eight, a group of four Democrats and four Republicans that released details of the sweeping legislation last week.
The bills release was somewhat overshadowed by a hectic news week that included the high profile failure of a gun control measure in Washington, the arrest of a man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Obama and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss) and the events in Boston.
Critics of immigration reform have argued that Congress should move slowly after the suspects were revealed to be immigrants of Chechen ethnicity, who came to the U.S. when young.
Durbin shifted discussion from the bombing to the immigration legislation, which he said contained several provisions designed to directly address public safety.
The bill, Durbin noted, calls for measures to strengthen the border with Mexico, and would allow the nations undocumented immigrants to apply to become registered provisional immigrants.
We are going to have 11 million people come forward and have an opportunity to register with our government, out of the shadows, he said.
Durbin touted a provision in the bill that would dramatically expand the countrys electronic worker verification program. And an overhaul of the worker visa system would ensure we can track visa holders who visit the United States to make sure they leave when they are supposed to, Durbin said.
Some in Washington have suggested efforts to pass the bill would be colored by the bombing. Earlier Sunday Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) predicted the attack would have "a severe impact on the immigration debate."
"If people are coming from a country that has a severe terrorist background there should be extra vetting for people from that country," King said on Fox News Sunday.
The younger of the two Boston bombing suspects, Kyrgyzstan-born Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Sept. 11 of last year. He remains hospitalized in serious condition following his capture.
His older brothers efforts to become a citizen were reportedly held up over concerns about his 2011 contact with the FBI. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed following a shootout with police.
I know a lot of Democrats that don’t like this because they take jobs, cause crime and lower our kid’s education (among many othe things). We need to reach out to them on this issue. I knew a lot of Dems in CA that agreed wholehartedly on this issue. How to reach them to become involved enough to contact their reps?
Won’t be that long, the economy and welfare state have 10 years left, tops.
Recall Pelosi saying they had to pass the law to find out what was in it. This clown’s promise is worth what amount of thought he put into it.
Think of all of the GOOD things that Chechen Muslims bring to us!
Um Senator Durbin, that immigration bill went south since the events of last week.
Well if you really want to be safe Senator Durbin, do as the Israelis have done, build a SECURITY WALL.
America sure has some dumb-ass legislatures.
They lost their credibility a long time ago, no one believes them and it’s obvious just propaganda.
Here’s a comment: Durbin is either an idiot, hopes most of the public are idiots, or both.
What a boneheaded thing to say. Not that the RINOS will ever try to argue with it.
That makes this whole thing even worse because during this period where the nation (especially Boston) is recovering from the terror attack they are obviously writing these mantras.
Durbin: “The immigration bill will make us safer”
Durbin: “Our troops at GITMO and Abu Ghraib acted not unlike Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge and Hitler’s Nazis.”
FYDD. FOAD. Now.
Little Dick chiming in to make some political hay for a dying system of government that evolved, unfortunately, from a great idea. Benjamin Franklin wasn’t only a jack-of-all-trades, he was a seer.
Let’s face it FReepers, we’ve reached the end of our tether. With Christie, Rubio and Ryan deserting the Conservative cause, if it ever existed, we desperately need that legitimate third party that could upset our enemies’ applecart.
Whenever Durbin says something will make us safer, it’s a sure bet he’s full of sh*t.
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