Posted on 03/08/2002 1:24:33 PM PST by sarcasm
Friday, March 08, 2002 - WASHINGTON - Rep. Tom Tancredo takes credit for thwarting the Bush administration's last effort to offer partial amnesty to thousands of illegal residents, but Thursday the outspoken immigration foe said he may have been outmaneuvered by the White House.
President Bush has struck a deal with the House leadership to place legislation that offers an extension of amnesty on its consent calendar before Bush heads to Mexico for a state visit next week, the Colorado Republican said. That action should ensure quick House passage of legislation that Bush has repeatedly sought from Congress. It would allow an undocumented person to receive legal standing, such as a valid green card, by filing a declaration with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It presumably also would require the person to have been in the United States by a certain date and have filed a declaration with the INS from an appropriate sponsor, such as a relative or employer, and pay a $1,000 penalty. "The terms are still up in the air," said Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration, a group that has been allied with Tancredo. "We've heard to the effect that the president wants something to bring down to Mexico." The initial Bush proposal, designed exclusively for Mexicans, once was high on the president's legislative wish list, but it was delayed after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. However, as the president noted Wednesday in a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he now is pushing for the extension of the amnesty program known by the section of immigration law that covers it, Section 245I. The president hailed it as a way to reunite family, separated by the border. "If you believe in family values, if you understand the worth of family and the importance of family, let's get 245I out of the United States Congress and give me a chance to sign it," Bush told the chamber members. Tancredo, the head of a congressional caucus on immigration issues and proponent of halting virtually all immigration, said he had blocked a previous attempt by Bush to push an extension of the amnesty program through the House. But this time, he said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., had agreed to place the issue on the suspension, or consent, calendar, making it difficult to defeat the proposal. The Senate might be more favorable to the bill than the House, expanding the numbers of individuals who can apply, Tancredo said.
Given the Bush family history in politics I can see this being a real possibility. And it answers a lot of questions that seem to defy all rationale. Question: didn't Bush III get into some hot water a few years ago with a girlfriend that claimed he harassed her?
Which, of course, is now synonymous with "Republican".
You bet, it will be like the last second in the big game, as long as they got one foot in the in zone. As million more will make all kinds of claims.
As the millions that don't score, what the hell, they will just keep entering illegally. No big deal.
How about, most honorable undocumented alien worker.
Yup...I said so in so many words earlier in this thread.
I always thought that everyone in Congress should be forced to purchase a modest home in a modest neighborhood in Houston or Dallas (and they and their family live in it between sessions).
If they did, we may see a little more vigilance from them in getting on the INS's case about their total incompetence.
Pauline Hanson, former leader of Australia's One Nation political party, did this in Australia. Her party did not win, but it took enough votes from the Labour Party to force them to take on illegal immigration before the last election.
Anyone following the news in Australia since last August knows that Australia has played hardball with illegal freeloaders arriving in boats on Australia's shores. She basically forced a major political party to adopt the anti-illegal-immigrant issue for their platform.
If I had Bill Gates' money, I would blast the airwaves with a political commercial right before the election in 2004 with a split-screen: on one side, Gallup poll results showing the American people's overwhelming negative opinion on granting illegal aliens any sort of legal status....on the other side, President Bush signing the bill into law.
If only I had Bill Gates' money.....
Le camp des saints incarnate
Yeah,you listen to the horror stories of the people who live near the border,especially in Arizona.If one of them were to begin picking off these law-breakers for trespassing,you can be sure that we'd see arrests at the border.Arrests of American citizens trying to protect their property and families.
Reminds me of the story of the guy who heard burglars in his garage,called the police,and was told that no one could be there for a half hour.The guy calls back 2 minutes later,and says,"Don't bother,I just shot them".In two minutes the place is crawling with police,who arrest the burglars."I thought you said that you had shot them",says one cop."I thought you said there was no one around for a half hour",the guy replied.Of course,in our world,they would probably arrest him for filing a false police report.
And the sick part is,he won't pick up a single vote from the "left".
I seriously doubt it.They sure haven't been able to do much with Mexico in the past 500 years.They are pathetic pawns.This is not for Mexicans,Atzlans,or anyone else.It is to turn the US into a third world country,lorded over by the NY and London international bankers,who have no use for national sovereignty.
Yes ---it's almost impossible for Americans to compete because we are not allowed to build the kind of houses the Mexicans build ---one of the most common housing materials over there is old cardboard, some two-by-fours, and a corrugated tin roof. Our cost of living is many times higher but we're being forced to compete for the same wages now.
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