Posted on 03/08/2002 1:24:33 PM PST by sarcasm
Friday, March 08, 2002 - WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo takes credit for thwarting the Bush administration's last effort to offer partial amnesty to thousands of illegal residents, but Thursday the outspoken immigration foe said he may have been outmaneuvered by the White House.
President Bush has struck a deal with the House leadership to place legislation that offers an extension of amnesty on its consent calendar before Bush heads to Mexico for a state visit next week, the Colorado Republican said. That action should ensure quick House passage of legislation that Bush has repeatedly sought from Congress. It would allow an undocumented person to receive legal standing, such as a valid green card, by filing a declaration with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It presumably also would require the person to have been in the United States by a certain date and have filed a declaration with the INS from an appropriate sponsor, such as a relative or employer, and pay a $1,000 penalty. "The terms are still up in the air," said Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration, a group that has been allied with Tancredo. "We've heard to the effect that the president wants something to bring down to Mexico." The initial Bush proposal, designed exclusively for Mexicans, once was high on the president's legislative wish list, but it was delayed after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. However, as the president noted Wednesday in a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he now is pushing for the extension of the amnesty program known by the section of immigration law that covers it, Section 245I. The president hailed it as a way to reunite family, separated by the border. "If you believe in family values, if you understand the worth of family and the importance of family, let's get 245I out of the United States Congress and give me a chance to sign it," Bush told the chamber members. Tancredo, the head of a congressional caucus on immigration issues and proponent of halting virtually all immigration, said he had blocked a previous attempt by Bush to push an extension of the amnesty program through the House. But this time, he said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., had agreed to place the issue on the suspension, or consent, calendar, making it difficult to defeat the proposal. The Senate might be more favorable to the bill than the House, expanding the numbers of individuals who can apply, Tancredo said.
Thanks for keeping us posted on this travesty.
I wouldn't get too excited about Byrd yet--there's a good chance he's just holding out for more pork.
OTOH, the rise of the Islamic militantcy, combined with the established worldwide network, may be working in our favor on this one. I've no doubt that some of these guys, along with some captains of industry, had plans to retire to some distant place away from the mess they're creating. Since Americans have now become targets everywhere, they need to maintain some safety at home if they want any hope of a pleasant retirement.
New speak? Jorge Bush has read George Orwell
90% of Americans oppose granting amnesty to illegal immigrants and over 90% of Americans oppose all illegal immigration. So why do a majority of our 'representatives' in Congress support granting amnesty for illegals? Simple, our so called representatives are controlled by the evil elite new world order corportate traitors who control the media and both political parties.
As for puting the agency under Homeland Security, I'd like to study that idea a bit more before I support it.
Why do we even need Ridge and Homeland Security in the first place? We already have enough laws and agencies to handle the problem if this administration would just start enforcing the laws.
Enforcing the laws? What a novel concept.[/sarcasm]
To add insult to injury Bush on the eve of his UN trip to Mexico "promised initiatives to ease the plight of would-be illegal immigrants", saying, "There are people in our neighborhood who hurt". Looks like America has its first Mexican President. The guy is a disgrace.
Does anyone know what life is like in New Zealand or Ireland?
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