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.
LMAO
George Bush is the most honest person we have had in the Oval Office in quite some time. This statement is an INSULT.
I continue to believe this is an unacceptable statement, and you guys can tap dance around it all you want.
Tancredo wants to get publicity, keep the issue alive, and get money for his PAC.
No, I said you were dishonest when you don't quote what he is REALLY trying to do: a workers' program, which you all shot down the second he mentioned it.
And the sooner you all face the fact that that dream of mass deportation isn't going to happen, perhaps we can get to the "meat" of the problem.
I've been accused of that for years -- and yet, despite being challenged repeatedly, not one person has ever been able to provide a link to a post of mine (or anybody's, for that matter) advocating open borders.
As I said, vacuous.
Gosh, can't you do better than that?
I found one of his, too:
Lou Dobbs is a Bush hating Marxist tool. You're being used.
I don't think so; I'm pretty sure none of my children are as disengenuous are you appear to be.
LOL on the Lou DObbs quote. Good work!
As I pointed out earlier, Thomas Jefferson himself rejected the notion of trusting politicians. As I said earlier, Tancredo in a sense is quoting Jefferson on Bush, "In questions of power (and border security) let no more be heard of confidence (trust) in men, (specifically Bush) but bind him down from mischief with the chains of the Constitution." Thomas Jefferson 1799
George Bush is the most honest man we have had . . . I read your lips on this, Marples, but I prefer Ronald Reagan. "Trust but verify" or better yet, Jefferson, "Let no more be heard of (trust) in men . . ."
And dragging Ronald Reagan's quote about the Soviets (liars) into this is also an insult to the President.
Pfui. You people are simply unable to see past your Tancredo adulation. Good luck with that, for I am certain you are going to be disappointed.
There are a hanful of freepers who suffer from cognitive dissonance when it comes to President Bush whose minds will justify trusting him on anything, not realizing that politicians by nature are not to be trusted. Ask some of these people what they think of some of Bush's biggest blunders such as No Child Left Behind, signing Campaign Finance REform, and the Medicare Prescription boondoggle. They'll defend each one. It's pretty depressing.
You are a retread.
Go Bengals.
You shouldn't trust ANY politician, be it Bush, Tancredo, or whomever. Politicians by nature are power hungry and untrustworthy.
Reform Party 2008?
So we cannot trust Tancredo when he says he cannot trust Bush?
If you put your trust in politicians and their promises you are certain to be disappointed. (Example, "Read my lips, no new taxes!" - which well known politician promised that?) After he was elected, he raised taxes!
Trust President Thomas Jefferson on this one. "In questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind them down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution." By Thomas Jefferson in 1799 - and still true today.
How does he have such a high ACU rating if he "has no other issues"?
Aren't you late to the Gabrielle Giffords campaign headquarters, tootz?
Let’s see,
The illegals come from all over Mexico to the US border, by themselves.
The illegals cross the federally patrolled US border, by themselves.
The illegals disperse to every corner of the US, by themselves.
But if we remove the incentives, jobs and benefits, and perhaps even add a few disincentives, it’s impossible to think that they will go back home, by themselves?
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