FROM: Roy Beck, NumbersUSA.com
DATE: 4 p.m. Monday 11mar02
As you make a final round of phone calls, please be aware of some major whoppers being told by a lot of staffers when they get a call about Section 245(i).
It would be really helpful if you would make your full round of calls one more time to make sure that nobody is still believing any of these myths.
If you haven't called, please do so today and tomorrow.
All of the myths below have been stated repeatedly to our network of callers over the last few days.
Myth 1: The supposed vote on Section 245(i) is an internet hoax.
That is always a good way to just avoid talking to a citizen. Make sure that they know that you know that the "hoax" vote is scheduled in the House for after 6 p.m. Tuesday and under the bill name H.R. 1885.
You may remember that last night I e-mailed you the House Whip's official schedule for votes.
A lot of offices are responding to callers by saying their concern is a rumor or hoax.
Myth 2: HR 1885 has too many good things in it to vote against it.
Many of you are hearing this from people who ordinarily oppose illegal immigration.
Please make sure that every Member knows that all of the good things in H.R. 1885 have already passed the House in December and are awaiting Senate action.
The supporters of the Section 245i amnesty just took the very good HR 3525 visa-tracking bill and used all the same language to add to the amnesty inside HR 1885. It was an attempt to confuse Members and to give Members an excuse for supporting a popular president in his rush to reward (primarily) illegal aliens from Mexico.
But you must point out to staffers that the good HR 3525 is expected to be able to move through the Senate and give us all the good visa-tracking things -- without the amnesty being attached.
Remind people that the net effect of HR1885 is so bad that the ABI Illegal Immigration Report Card has announced that it will score a vote for HR1885 as a vote in favor of illegal immigration.
Myth 3: Section 245i is only about people who are here on visitor visas
Nearly all the people who apply for Section 245i cross the border illegally or violated their visitor visas years ago and have been living as illegal aliens since.
Myth 4: Section 245i is primarily about reuniting mommies, daddies and their dependent children
This is the most persistent myth of all, largely because the White House and even the president continually try to spin the Section 245i amnesty that way.
To hear them tell it, mean old U.S. immigration laws have split families apart, and Section 245i merely allows them to get around some minor immigration technicalities so they can live together again.
In fact, most of the users of the 245i amnesty either are not relatives at all (petitioned by employers) or are extended family and other adult relatives.
The nuclear families that are affected tend to have been put in the situation in the first place because the first member into the U.S. came illegally, got an amnesty and then wanted to add a bunch of other family members into his or her amnesty. All these relatives are here because they broke U.S. laws requiring people to wait in line for their turn.
The spouses involved are illegal aliens who are here by breaking the law and then persuaded an American citizen or legal immigrant to marry them, knowing they were a lawbreaker. As might be expected, there is a phenomenal amount of fraud involved in these marriages.
Myth 5: The INS would not have the money to do its job without the fees from Section 245i
a. The $1,000 per illegal alien barely covers the cost of running the amnesty program, let alone providing significant operating funds for the INS.
b. There is something profoundly corrupt and unethical about encouraging people to break the law so you can make money off it to supposedly discourage people from breaking the law.
c. Almost any money that has gone to the INS in recent years has been wasted, according to the 60 Minutes expose last night.
Talking to Democrats with competitive elections this fall Although the Democratic congressional leadership constantly calls for citizenship for all 9 million illegal aliens, there are many individual Democratic Members of Congress who are uneasy about this stance and know it isn't very popular in their home districts.
If you have a Democratic incumbent with a competitive race this fall, be sure to remind the office that open-borders, anti-patriotic, special-interest acts like Section 245i are the last way to hold on to independent voters upon which their re-election depends.
Also remind the Democrats that they are being asked to potentially harm themselves by voting for Section 245i in order to help Republican Pres. Bush to reach his own personal political goals. Why would they want to do that?
Talking to Republicans who are loyal to the President
Some of you are finding that normally anti-illegal Republicans are saying they will have to vote for Section 245i out of loyalty to the White House.
You will have to try to persuade those staffers that it is highly doubtful that Pres. Bush is going to punish Republicans who stay consistent on their pledge to constituents to oppose illegal immigration.
If Bush hasn't punished GOP defectors on free trade votes, can he really be expected to be vindictive on something of this consequence.
In the end, the Bush loyalists are going to have to consider that their popular Commander in Chief is asking them to harm U.S. security and work against his overall efforts for a safer America.
ACTION---Call every office again and make sure they understand that the vote is Tuesday evening.
Your phone calls are the main reason there will be any opposition at all to Section 245i tomorrow evening when it comes up for a vote.
IF YOU HAVEN'T CALLED ANYBODY YET, PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE. PREFERABLY CALL SEVERAL OTHERS FROM YOUR STATE, TOO. Get the phone numbers from our directory:
http://www.numbersusa.com/congressinfo/
If you have called before, please call again and begin by saying that you just want to make sure that they are aware of the details of the vote.
What if we lose?
Many of you have contacted us wondering if there is any reason to go on if we lose tomorrow. Of course there is. This is just one battle in a much larger war.
Even if we lose Tuesday -- and the odds are strong that we will -- we can still gain some victory if our side puts up enough noise to make House GOP leaders not want to do something so uncomfortable again. The White House has made it clear that it wants a whole series of amnesties to go through. So we need to help the GOP House leaders grow weary of the fights and stand up to the White House.
Tancredo's letter to all Members of House today
Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado is leading the opposition to Section 245i and will lead the debate against it on the floor tomorrow (according to info we just got).
This is the letter he sent to all House Members today:
To: Dear Colleague
Subject: Dear Colleague - 245(i), Immigration, National Security
6 Months Later: Immigration Policy
IS National Security
Say no to amnesty for illegal immigrants - vote no on H.R. 1885 and 245(i)
Dear Colleague:
Today, exactly six months after terrorists exploited our immigration laws to attack New York and Washington, I am urging you to vote no on amnesty for illegal aliens. It is unconscionable that we would vote to reward illegal behavior at a time when we should be strengthening the enforcement of our immigration laws. Extension of 245(i) would only invite future terrorists to exploit such lax enforcement.
H.R. 1885, which is on the suspension calendar for tomorrow, extends Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and would permit illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. without receiving a State Department background check in their home country. Consular officers in our embassies, not the INS, should conduct background checks. They have unmatched expertise in the language and procedures of the countries in which they are stationed as well as in analyzing local police records. In addition, their knowledge of local fraudulent document operations and political extremist groups allows them to screen potential immigrants far more effectively than U.S.-based INS employees who have no training or experience in screening for criminals or potential terrorists.
Leadership has attached the text of H.R. 3525, the visa reform bill passed by the House at the end of last session to H.R. 1885, in order to make it more difficult for members to oppose. The House is already on record in support of H.R. 3525, and there is no need to pass it again, with or without an amnesty attached.
In short, there is no reason to support a new amnesty - regardless of what is attached to it. A vote against H.R. 1885 and 245(i) is a vote for national security.
Sincerely,
Thomas G. Tancredo
Member of Congress
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