But deliberately cloaked in the bill — the first attempted passage was, in fact, to be by unrecorded vote — was the highly controversial Section 245(i) amendment to the immigration law, which allows "undocumented" immigrants (who, to employ plainer talk, are really illegal aliens) to immediately get permanent residency. All they need to do is pay the federal government $1,000 and have a close relative or employer sponsor them.
This decision gives people who come here illegally the ability to skirt American law, to move to the front of the line because they have skirted that law, and to avoid any real check on their past. Without it, they would have to return to their own countries, apply legally, probably wait up to 10 years and go through at least the minimal check of experienced visa and consular officers in the American Embassies.
The fact that this entire scenario was cloaked in the secrecy and deception of a spy novel — it was included in the day's "suspension calendar," which is generally reserved for noncontroversial matters — demonstrates the degree to which the administration is trying to advance its idea of amnesty for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens in America, perhaps up to 9 million."
"We’re going to go after all crime, and we’re going to make sure people get punished for the crime."
George W. Bush - Presidential Debate at Wake Forest University - Oct 11, 2000
"It is not possible to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed' while deliberately violating the law.."
John Ashcroft - Aug. 1, 1998 (Washington Post).