Posted on 04/26/2006 5:20:12 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
President Bush generally favors plans to give millions of illegal immigrants a chance at U.S. citizenship without leaving the country, but does not want to be more publicly supportive because of opposition among conservative House Republicans, according to senators who attended a recent White House meeting.
Several officials familiar with the meeting also said Democrats protested radio commercials that blamed them for Republican-written legislation that passed the House and would make illegal immigrants vulnerable to felony charges.
Bush said he was unfamiliar with the ads, which were financed by the Republican National Committee, according to officials familiar with the discussions.
At another point, Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada and other members of his party pressed the president about their concern that any Senate-passed bill would be made unpalatable in final talks with the House.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat, said the lawmaker who would lead House negotiators, House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, had been "intractable" in negotiations on other high-profile bills in the past. Bush did not directly respond to the remark, officials said.
The Republican and Democratic officials who described the conversation did so Wednesday on condition of anonymity, saying they had not been authorized to disclose details.
Bush convened the session to give momentum to the drive for election-year immigration legislation, a contentious issue that has triggered large street demonstrations and produced divisions in both political parties. Senators of both parties emerged from the session praising the president's involvement and said the timetable was achievable.
"Yes, he thinks people should be given a path to citizenship," said Sen. Mel Martinez., R-Fla., a leading supporter of immigration legislation in the Senate.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Bush doesn't have an open border policy.
Facts don't matter.
"Bush doesn't have an open border policy."
Allowing about a million illegal aliens a year to invade our country each year, during his entire term, sure doesn't sound like a secure border policy.
Yes, I don't recall seeing any open borders posters. But let's not leave any question about it for Prokopton.
All in favor of open borders please reply to this post.
(For bandwidth considerations, don't everybody respond at once)
You only have to listen to him speak on the issue of the border. His response is that family values do NOT stop at the Rio Grande.
Another response to a secure the border statement Bush replies with a "they just want to put bread on the table for their families"
And if that does not convince you he called the Minutemen "vigilantes" and the last I knew the Minutemen were not setting up their chairs in the immigration offices dictating which visas are good and which visas are not...they are watching the border!
ROTFLMAO!
Excellent. Absolutely excellent.
Allowing about a million illegal aliens a year to invade our country each year, during his entire term, sure doesn't sound like a secure border policy.
I'm not sure if one million is a correct figure.
I do know that CBP arrested 1.2 million illegal aliens at the border in FY2005.
That doesn't sound like an "open border". We should try to characterize the border situation without hyperbole.
Methinks thou protesteth too much.
There you go again with the facts.
I smell a sell out Rat coming big time.
These beltway pols are going to do what ever they want and hope that the voters are to stupid to remember come November how they were screwed by THEIR elected folks.
I hope everyone of these turds that vote for amnesty in any form get a snoot full of no votes come November.
Democrat politicians are lower than the sewer rats they muck dive with in that cesspool called the DNC.
These blind-folded, open border apologists will be in for a big surprise- after they regain their balance from the 'spinning' on the right/left and start swinging their sticks. It won't be candy, but communism- neatly wrapped in bite-sized pieces falling all over the place.
I gotta ask my association if we can approve bigger gates on my already 'gated' community.
Bush's CBP arrested 1.2 million illegal aliens at the border in FY2005.
Bush didn't call the Minutemen vigilantes.
Bush doesn't have an open border policy.
Methinks thou posts falsehoods, so I guess we're even.
Obviously 1.2 million was not enough. LOL
Are they still waiting for their day in court?
It won't stop them from making it up
And the point of repeating yourself is for....your own reading amusement? To see yourself in print? I'm at a loss, otherwise, as repeating your opinions doesn't make more true your unsubstantiated opinion that "the reason employer enforcement/arrests decreased is because border enforcement funding increased."
The facts I've posted contradict your opinions.
The point of this article: "Bush favors bestowing citizenship upon illegals." This, I said (in an earlier post), comes as no surprise. The reason? FACT 1: he hasn't secured the borders, FACT 2: he has slashed the budget for Border Patrol Agents, and FACT 3: employer arrests have decreased during his term.
And because actions really do speak louder than words, I am not surprised by the statements in this article.
Now, if you have evidence that the facts I've posted are incorrect, please feel free to post it and I'll read it. Otherwise, your unsubstantiated opinion/conclusion as to why employer arrests/enforcement has decreased under his presidency is just that, unsubstantiated opinion.
Correct!
Facts don't matter.
To say it's the federal government's job to protect the border and give an utter and complete pass to the state governments who are causing the problem, is BS.
If I lived in California the first thing I'd be trying to change is the local and state laws that facilitate the illegals. Would they be coming to California in such numbers if:
- the could not qualify for any government benefits
- if they had to produce proof of citizenship for any government action and failing so would be arrested and turned over to the INS
- If their children were not allowed to go to school
- If they were denied any medical care beyond emergency room treatment accompanying with a call to the INS.
- If they had to provide proof of citizenship to vote, register vehicles, etc.
California makes it very attractive to an illegal...and we blame the President for that.
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