Posted on 09/22/2006 7:43:18 AM PDT by Dane
Tancredo: 'I Don't Trust the President' on Border Security By Kevin Mooney CNSNews.com Staff Writer September 22, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - An immigration compromise plan will not work, because President Bush cannot be trusted to "certify" America's borders are secure, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) said Thursday.
In an effort to reconcile the divergent immigration bills in the House and Senate, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) put forth a compromise plan this summer that would require the president to "certify" the successful implementation of security measures along the most porous entry points into the U.S. before a guest worker program could be implemented.
"I don't trust the president to say the borders are secure," Tancredo told an audience at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. He said immigration policy should be formulated with an emphasis on law enforcement as opposed to "political pandering" for votes. Tancredo also cited a "disconnect" between "elite policy makers" and the American people.
This week, the Senate is considering House legislation that would authorize the construction of 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the most porous sections of America's southwestern border.
Additional measures passed by the House Thursday impose criminal penalties on the construction and financing of border tunnels and provide for expedited removal of criminal aliens. The legislation also "reaffirms the authority" of state and local police to enforce federal immigration laws.
Should the Senate fail to act on border enforcement legislation, Tancredo sees grassroots efforts and citizen activism on the local level as a viable alternative. He would like to see citizen support for strict local laws against illegal immigration and support for pro-enforcement officials at the local level.
Tancredo pointed to a local ordinance in Hazelton, Pa., as an example of the kind of legislation local officials could enact. The ordinance imposes fines and penalties on landlords who rent to illegal aliens and on businesses who hire them.
Similar measures have also passed in other parts of Pennsylvania and in Riverside, N.J.
Tancredo took issue with some conservative strategists - such as Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform - who feel that a push for stringent immigration policies could hurt the Republican Party politically.
"I don't buy it," Tancredo said. "By saying we should be a nation of laws, we will gain votes."
As evidence, Tancredo pointed to Proposition 200 in Arizona, which requires government employees to verify the immigration status of people applying for benefits. Tancredo noted that law was enacted with support from 47 percent of the state's Hispanics.
It is the THE issue to those of us in the border states. Our schools here are overrun with illegal aliens who get free lunches and will get financial aid for college while I will have to pay for my daughter through the nose.
I just have to disagree. I believe it was Tancredo's stand on this issue that caused the President and others to re-think this issue. Remember when it was "guest worker" program and people on this site went ballistic? Now we are at the "enforcement" stage. Quite a shift, I think. Tancredo has been consistent all along on this, and I believe most conservatives stand with him. He is not for the dims.
(I was behind the prime minister ;^)
Per your reply #121, LOL! Very true.
ROFLMAO. You can't even find an offshore article to back up your OWN statement:
""I believe a guest worker program will help us rid the society and the border of these coyotes, who smuggle people in the back of 18-wheelers," Bush said. "
See what I mean; you have to LIE to try to make your point.
You're quite welcome.
The issue that Tancredo brought up was a personal attack on the President's integrity.
It was not an attack on his policies, which is where one should attack if they don't agree.
The President may not be perfect, (who is), but to question this President's integrity is disingenuous.
This President has integrity.
I may not agree with all his policies but I will not impune his integrity by saying I don't trust his word once he has given it.
After decades of "wink and a nod" and "catch and release" border enforcement I don't trust the federal government on border enforcement either.
That's why millions of Americans want a couple years of demonstrated secured borders before we talk about a guest worker or citizenship plan.
Read the article; it says nothing of the sort -- and proves Bush is for a workers' program!
And what's his name, oops I forgot you only know him by his backside.(sorry couldn't resist).
How have I lied? Hasn't the President called repeatedly for "comprehensive" reform that would institute a guest worker program that would include a significant number of illegal aliens?
That is an `off-shore article', Howlin.
How am I lying? The president is following Fox in the photo, as I said.
You always manage to leave out the parts that make your argument look ridiculous; like the part where they have to LEAVE the country.
And yes, we NEED a guest workers program.
`chuckleheads'
As things stand, don't they have to leave the country now?
Oh, you're simpleminded, I see. You can't even keep up with what YOU said, so my words are wasted on you.
Thank God for that!
I ain't going to argue that point with you since you have much personal experience in the field of being a chucklehaed.
Bush and GOP ratings are looking way too strong for comfort no the Left so they are uncorking this stuff again to try to drain GOP votes into the couch, hoping voters will sit there instead.
Ain't gonna work. The GOP ratings are surging and erasing many of the projected losses.
Bump!
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