Republican to Lead Immigration Revolt Against Bush

Reuters ^ | Jan 12, 2005 | Alan Elsner

[GOPXtreme20]

Republican to Lead Immigration Revolt Against Bush

By Alan Elsner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican member of the House of Representatives vowed on Wednesday to lead a revolt against President Bush (news - web sites)'s immigration reform proposals and predicted that up to 180 party members would support him.

Bush in an interview with the Washington Times published on Wednesday said he plans to force a debate in Congress this year on his proposal that would allow some illegal immigrants to obtain legal work permits in the United States.

Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo, who heads the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said he was determined to block the legislation. The caucus, which had 71 members in the last Congress, argues for stronger action to stop illegal immigration and a reduction of legal migration.

"Why is this so important to the president?" Tancredo said. "Is it just the corporate interests who benefit from cheap labor? Do they have such a strong grip on our president so that he is actually willing to put our nation at risk, because open borders do put our nation at risk?

"Is it petulance, because we were able to stop it in the last Congress? Why is it so important to give amnesty to people who have broken the law?" Tancredo said.

"I'm willing to lead a fight against this and I would say there are at least 180 members of our Republican caucus who are willing at least to stop amnesty for illegal immigrants," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Bush has repeatedly said he views immigration reform as an important issue for his second term. In the Washington Times interview, he said it was near the top of his agenda.

"Look, whether or not you agree with the solution or not, we have a problem in America when you've got 8 million undocumented workers here," he said.

BUSH CONFIDENCE

Bush expressed confidence he could win over opponents, as he did in passing tax reform during his first term. "Initially out of the box, some people said, over my dead body would they pass tax relief ... If I listened to all that, I'd just quit, you know. But that's not the way I think."

But analysts agree that immigration reform could be much more divisive for Republicans since growing numbers of rank-and-file voters are becoming concerned at the continued influx of illegal immigrants across the Mexican border.

"No issue, not one, threatens to do more damage to the Republican coalition than immigration," said David Frum, a former White House speech writer in Bush's first term.

"There's no issue where the beliefs and interests of the party rank-and-file diverge more radically from the beliefs and interests of the party's leaders," he wrote in the National Review last month.

Bush insists he is not offering amnesty to illegal immigrants but Tancredo said that was a "manipulation of language, the kind of thing (former President) Bill Clinton would have done. There is an issue of integrity here and an issue of honesty," he said.

[Jim Robinson]

Yeah, I know. ID cards, ID systems, Social Security numbers, citizenship papers, work permits, etc. As I said, the constitution is being ripped to shreds as we watch and many of us are cheering it on.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

National ID cards won't be far behind.

[ClintonBeGone]

You will see the same here in America within a few years or months.

You mean we'll be burning down the Mexican's places of worship? Sounds like you can't contain your excitement.

[Walkin Man]

A Republican member of the House of Representatives vowed on Wednesday to lead a revolt against President Bush's immigration reform proposals and predicted that up to 180 party members would support him.

Finally some REAL conservative Republicans fighting for whats RIGHT!

[Semaphore Heathcliffe]

My personal feelings on this is that Bush is trying to lay the ground work for Jeb Bush in the future by catering to the Hispanic vote.

More likely trying to lay the ground work for Jorge P.

[ClintonBeGone]

Are you saying that photo is racist because Foxx is wearing a sombrero?

That's Atta in the photo I posted, not Presidente Fox. I suppose they all look the same eh?

[Barlowmaker]

I do not live in the Southwest.

But I have two sisters and a brother who live in the Los Angeles basin, two close friends who live in San Diego, several other friends who live in the Valley of the Sun and another good frien who lives in Austin, TX. They are successful, professional but non-polictical people and I've talked with all of them at length about this issue. I was in Los Angeles over the Holidays, and in Arizona in December. They don't see the world the way you see the world. They are not being invaded.

I've watched the silly, and pathetic, political challenges to conservatives like Chris Cox (97 lifetime ACU), David Dreier (92), Jeff Flake (93) and Jim Kolbe (75) over this issue. Failed challenges, several in primaries. I watched Arnold Shwarzenegger beat Tom McClintock 48 percent to 13 percent.

I don't trust the world as presented by the zealots on this forum. Neither do your neighbors, from what I've seen.

[ClintonBeGone]

Having a write up in Newsweek and making the Washington Times are mile markers for ALIPAC. I'll let you know when we go higher on the media tree Dane. Now where is this legendary post where you claim we put something derrogatory in our topics about you?

Judicial Watch once thought it was a player too. Now look at them.

[Southack]

"Illegals need not be 'registered'. They need to be ejected."

If you don't have registration, i.e. if you have the current system rather than what both Bush and Tancredo are proposing, then you essentially have a law enforcement problem in size (i.e. 8+ million illegals) that dwarfs what the Europeans had during WW2 (i.e. rounding up 6+ million).

And you have that problem because so many of those millions are anonymous fugitives.

If you are familiar with law enforcement, you'll know that it takes more men, more manpower to track down *anonymous* felons than it does to go to the homes and employers of registered parolees.

Well, that's the daunting task that faces our existing law enforcement.

To reduce the scope of that problem, i.e. to make the problem smaller so that less manpower is required, what you want to do is to convince most all of those currently anonymous felons (and as a bonus, their employers) to voluntarily register themselves and their employers with the federal government (i.e. precisely what gun banners would like to do with gun owners if we ever let our guard down).

Congressmen Tancredo's immigration plan accomplishes that feat; ditto for President Bush's immigration plan.

...And fortunately for all of us, one of those two immigration plans will pass into law this year.

We're about to know precisely who is employing illegals, and where.

[Edit35]

Once registered, this problem becomes manageable.

I don't think you understand.

If the illegals here now were all to agree to register, and if THAT ALONE put an end to the massive influx of uneducated masses, then many people might bite the bullet and support the plan.

However, by offering "amnesty" (call it what you want), it would literally be inviting every single person in latin America, not to mention Asia, etc. to take a stab at jumping the border into the US on the hopes that THEY TOO would be granted ECONOMIC amnesty, which after all is that Bush's plan amounts to.

Another thing: Bush's plan throws a monkey wrench into US immigration policy which for the past 60 years has focused almost solely on allowing immigrantion for political repression reasons, NOT ECONOMIC.

After all, the whole freaking world would come bursting across our borders in hopes of making a better life. WHEN WILL IT END?? When english is a second language??

[Southack]

"National ID cards won't be far behind."

Certainly that threat is real, but I don't see such a thing passing. For one thing, what Congressman wants to tell his constituents that they have to go down to the Department of Motor Vehicles and stand in line for 4 hours to get a new National ID card before they can go interview for a new job?!

That's electoral suicide. You might as well stand in line at the polls on November 2 telling everyone in line that you are going to tax each of them for four hours of their labor. We're not talking about a big popularity winner, here!

[FastCoyote]

"You expect the 36 million annual visitors to Las Vegas to clean their own toilets in the 126,000 Hotel rooms they frequent? You expect 9 million folks in New York City to pick their own vegetables? Get real. "

I live in Las Vegas and I can tell you those illegals also bring a cost in education and crime. Also, the hotels are unionized, so what you've just created is a huge Mexican cartel. If you need illegals so bad, there's no reason you can't import them from around the world, with a better education level. Oh, but then that would be the same as an immigration policy, which we already have but isn't enforced.

So what you guys want really is to turn the southwest into a giant barrio.

[Edit35]

We're about to know precisely who is employing illegals, and where.

I got some good strong coffee you might want to consider.

Even if we pass a plan, we will be no closer to solving the problem of a continuins massive influx of uneducated immigrants across our southern border.

[janetgreen]

Thank you for that link. It's now bookmarked, and I look forward to reading it.