Posted on 05/25/2006 3:43:58 PM PDT by notes2005
Liberal House Republicans are taking an increasingly tough stance on immigration reform and are more determined than ever to delete the portions of the Senate bill that grant citizenship rights to more than 10 million illegal aliens.
"I don't want to see a bill come to the floor of the House that gives them a path to citizenship," said Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, one of the most liberal Republicans in Congress.
This is a change from three weeks ago, before Mr. Shays attended 18 community meetings in his district, where the questions invariably turned to immigration. At the first meeting, he told a group of constituents that he supported providing a path to citizenship to illegals. Not anymore.
"There were real questions about that," Mr. Shays said yesterday. "There is not much tolerance for allowing people to become citizens who came here illegally."
It's the same reaction many House Republicans in moderate and liberal districts have had after hearing from angry constituents in recent weeks, said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, the former chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee who can cite encyclopedic knowledge of congressional districts off the top of his head.
"It is the hottest issue out there," he said, referring to public reaction nationwide, including his own moderate district in Northern Virginia. "Everywhere I go, even the ethnic groups, everybody is talking about this."
It was with much uneasiness, Mr. Davis said, that he voted for the House's tough border-security bill last year. But since then, he said, he has been stunned by the overwhelming public support for the House approach to immigration reform.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Very encouraging about the House moderates getting the message.
PUBLIC PRESSURE WORKS!
EXACTLY!!!!
We cannot trust the corrupted politicians to do want Americans want. The cheap-labor lobby wants more illegal immigrants to keep wages down; the La Raza extremists want open borders so the country will be Mexi-merica. America wants an end to illegal immigration, moderate immigration flows, and the rule of law re-established on our borders with real border security.
Any quid pro quo looks to us like a bait-and-switch. Only AFTER we see that the Government is serious about *really* ending the flows of illegal immigration, can we talk about letting some of the illegal immigrants here stay.
And this is why the House bill HR4437 IS THE ONLY REAL SOLUTION FOR RIGHT NOW. Pass it this year, implement it in 2007, and pass an immigration and legalization act in 2008. That is the ONLY WAY.
Indeed. But the INS/ICE policies are absolutely horrible. For one thing, there's a quote for how many people from various countries are allowed to immigrate each year. Illegal aliens are effectively counted against the quota. It shouldn't take a genius to figure out that counting illegal aliens against the quota without doing anything to stop them from coming over is downright insane.
"Even Mr. Shays understands that, and he may be from a liberal district, "
It is *because* Mr Shay is in a liberal district that he needs every vote he can get from Republicans.
That is correct ... the Republicans could possible MAKE GAINS in the House and Senate, if they turned a sow's ear into a silk purse and passed a bill close to HR4437 and Bush signed it, calling it "a downpayment on immigration reform". The Senate CIRA bill is chock full of real stinkers that could sink many a candidate forced to explain their support for bizarre and underhanded provisions that acutally undermine enforcement, give handouts to illegal aliens, quintuple legal immigration, etc. A very radical and very bad bill that will certainly cost some politicians their office (at least I hope).
And BTW, whoever came up with the Clintonesque "earned legalization" term to replace 'amnesty', he deserves the 2006 Orwell award for deceptive terminology.
"I don't get why it takes so long for someone to legally enter the US. Six months, at the most. That's all it should take."
Wow. You've been arguing about this issue vehemently and are that uninformed? Let me explain it in simple terms: We have limits on visas. 6 billion people out there, many millions want to get in... we let 1 million in each year. some vias categories have strict caps, some do not. Certain family categories (parents), and the H1B visas come to mind.
Think of it like Saturday night at a very popular restaurant, with it mostly booked. For those in the capped categories, you can wait a long long time to get in. Years.
I work with legal immigrants, I married a legal immigrant. It's not a simple process, and it costs a lot of money (making the $2000 'fine' no more than a nuisance fee really). Many legal immigrants (inclduing my better half) are not happy with this amnesty for illegal immigrants; it is a slap in the face to legal immigrants who wait and followed the rules.
Back at the restaurant, we find that people who just barged into the restaurant and grabbed a table are getting service, while the lawabiding patient ones wait outside. Restaurant owners feel they cant kick out the rude uninvited patrons and so decided to throw in the towel and serve them.
If you were a hungry would-be customer waiting on line, how would you feel?
There should be much higher limits. Much higher. Double the current number. It's clear that they are needed.
The MSM is gleefully reporting on this with a "Republican meltdown" theme.
I think that it's even odds that they (the msm) are going to be disapointed come Novermber.
This is a Democrat bill passed with the help of a few Republican Senators who want to be president..and look at the Dems who voted against it..that, more than anything, tells you something..
What should have convinced even the Washington Compost and the NYSlimes is that Sen. Byrd, D-WV, voted NO on the Amnesty Bill yesterday. Since he's been in office longer than anyone else, that should have given them a clue as to what he thinks is necessary for re-election in WV.
Yet, our clueless, spineless RINOs are comatose.
"The MSM is gleefully reporting on this with a "Republican meltdown" theme.
I think that it's even odds that they (the msm) are going to be disapointed come Novermber."
Ha! Here's the script:
1. MSM believes their own lies about immigration polls
2. People realize that only a GOP-led House will legislate sanely on this.
3. GOP support quietly strengthens as base gains the resolve to defeat Democrats in November in House races to stop this amnesty-sellout nonsense that the Bush-RINO-Democrat axis wants.
4. MSM gets a hissy fit on election night as returns show a decent night for GOP and no electoral rout.
you heard it here first. ALl that is reqired is for the House to HANG TOUGH and not cave in to the senate's odious bill.
Well, that's the thing: anyone running for office this term KNOWS that the leadership has misjudged both the intensity and breadth of the outrage on this issue, and that supporting anything other than "enforcment first" is political suicide.
The White House is worried about longer-term issues, recognizing that unless a good-sized minority of "Hispanic" voters can be convinced to pull the "R" lever, the Republican party will be wiped out in election cycles down the road. They're not stupid, they're just trying to solve a different problem.
But, if you get killed in the short term, there's no point worrying about what happens four cycles down the road.
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