Pinatas?
I don't think so.
Posted on 05/20/2007 8:06:50 AM PDT by Politicalmom
When the new immigration bill — a truly delicate compromise between seemingly irreconcilable sides on the highly emotional issue — comes to the Senate floor this week, expect high drama and a bit of suspense.
The reason: even though the bill is a compromise and what politicos on both sides of the issue say is the best chance to pass any kind of a bill this year (or for some years to come), it’s being blasted by some on both sides of the issue. The Christian Science Monitor:
Even before the details of a sweeping immigration reform deal were released this week, lawmakers and “stakeholders” on all sides of the issue began carving out changes they say are needed for the bill to become law.
Immigration rights groups want to reverse measures that tilt preferences in the visa system toward merit, rather than family reunification. Some labor unions want to scuttle the vast new guest worker program. And conservatives are blasting a plan that opens the door to legal status to some 12 million people now in the country illegally.
But the breadth of the coalition backing this bill – and the political skills of its sponsors – will give this bill momentum, as it faces a Senate debate next week and a perilous passage through the House in July.
Sen. Lindsay Graham (D) of South Carolina, a key negotiator, predicted that support in the Senate “will be overwhelming, as long as the agreement holds together.” A weary aide put it more bluntly: “Now, we’re all about to become piñatas for our respective groups.”
If it passes, some political heads could roll on both sides. If it doesn’t, some political heads could roll also. And those who believe the bill is a massive mistake and doesn’t take a hard enough line have gotten a boost now that the National Border Patrol Council has come out squarely against it, as the Washington Times reports:
The leadership of all 11,000 nonsupervisory U.S. Border Patrol agents yesterday criticized an immigration compromise by senators and the Bush administration as “piecemeal” legislation that invites future terrorist attacks and fails to secure the nation’s borders.
“Every person who has ever risked their life securing our borders is extremely disheartened to see some of our elected representatives once again waving the white flag on the issues of illegal immigration and border security,” National Border Patrol Council President T.J. Bonner said.
“Rewarding criminal behavior has never induced anyone to abide by the law, and there is no reason to believe the outcome will be any different this time,” he said.
Mr. Bonner said that with the ever-present threat of terrorism, it is critical to take steps necessary to immediately and completely secure the nation’s borders, adding that “piecemeal measures” will prolong America’s vulnerability and are “an open invitation to further terrorist attacks.”
This will give further impetus to the bill’s critics, particularly cable and radio talk show hosts who are already asking their audiences to flood Congress with calls expressing (a) opposition and (b) saying they will switch political parties, register as independent voters or vote against them if this bill passes. So far there is no huge emotional counterpart to motivate massive groups of people on the other side of this issue to call in and clamor for its passage. Will The Intensity Factor rule the day?
[Bonner]said the Border Patrol is “totally overwhelmed” by the number of illegal aliens crossing daily into the United States. Last year, the Border Patrol apprehended 1.1 million illegals, more than 3,000 every day.
“Rather than meaningless triggers of additional personnel and barriers outlined in the compromise, Americans must insist that border security be measured in absolute terms,” Mr. Bonner said. “Sadly, the plan that the Senate is proposing falls woefully short by that yardstick and needlessly jeopardizes the security of this nation.”
Will it pass?
News accounts differ between those who say the coalition will hold firm (the Monitor story) and those who contend passage of the bill is questionable (the Times story and some wire stories). In the end, it’ll depend on whether the coalition does indeed hold firm. And even if it passes in the Senate, there are doubts about how the proposal will fare among GOPers in the House.
But if it’s approved in the Senate, look for Bush’s and the GOP’s poll ratings to go down since this is truly “hot button” issue among conservatives — and despite some attempts to sell its conservative base on its approach to this issue, the administration’s outreach-and-convince efforts on this have been woefully inadequate…as have its efforts to convince rather than impose its decisions on other policies. The result: those who oppose it will feel they lost on a vote count and will feel betrayed by an administration that didn’t do it’s homework in terms of convincing or at least neutralizing opposition within its own party base.
A key characteristics of the Bush administration is its inability to adequately build consensus on issues. Rather, it decides, presents and then tries to shove through many of its policies on various fronts. This bill was a compromise bill, but an administration that had greater abilities in aggregating interests versus vote-counting might have been able to bring a greater part of its party’s conservative base along with solid and comprehensive arguments and political skills.
To summarize politics in the last few months... the Democrats sell out the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with Republican help sell out the Border Patrol agents at the Mexican border.
My point exactly.
I'm reserving comment until I can read at least the draft, not the talking points that the media are putting out. It's been amusing (and sad) to see the stampede to the microphones, by media and poiticians, shrieking about something nobody but the drafters have read (and I'm not sure about some of them.)
Let’s repeat it again.
Not “undocumented workers.”
INVADERS !!!
Triggers include: o 18,000 (CBP) Border Patrol hired -- This provision is NOT FUNDED. It is meaningless. They have had problems hiring and training 3,000 new agents in a year. This cannot occur as promised.
Resources to detain up to 27,500 aliens per day -- Again, this is not funded. Another totally empty promise.
Increased penalties for illegally entry and reentry -- the existing penalties aren't being enforced. Why should anyone believe the "increased" penalties will be?
..designs a worksite enforcement system that relies on electronic employment verification -- Ha, ha. the government has been trying to do this for more than 10 years, spending billions, and none of its sytems work. Although credit card companies can manage to do basically the same thing, government can't. This is more pie-in-the-sky.
The employer must attest that the Y worker will be paid not less than the greater of the actual wage paid by the employer to all other similarly situated workers or the “prevailing competitive wage -- Oh, yeah. This was the whole premise of the H1B visa, and it IS A BIG LIE. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have been laid off after training their visa-holding replacements who work for a third of the salary, isn't that right, Bill Gates?
In order to be eligible for this Z visa, one must have been illegally present within the U.S. before January 1, 2007. -- Whole new industry in fraudlent documents showong illegal presence prior to 1-1-07. Surprise! 30 million apply for Z visa and gain immediate legitimate presence in our country.
Individuals under the age of 30 that were brought to the United States out of their own control as a minor are eligible to receive their green card after 3 years rather than 8. -- Just more incedntive for illegals to bring their benefit-sucking kids along.
What a bill of goods.
The new “Immigration Bill” renders border patrol agents irrelevant; “just open the borders and let ‘em all come,” seems to be the federal attitude. Habla espanol, everyone?
Sandy the bill is AMNESTY.You can wait and read all you want but it’s a sellout and it’s going to lead to ANOTHER 20 million poor, uneducated people coming here as soon as possible !!!
Problem is that Bush prosecutes and persecutes and border guard who enforces current law. Those of us who supported Bush in the past were wrong. He may be better than Kerry and Gore but he is still giving away US soveringty.
This is where they all fall down. Pass a bill? Why? All we need to do is enforce the existing laws, especially the ones against employers hiring illegals. Fine them, jail them and close their shops. There would soon be an exodus across the border to the south.
Read my lips politicians: We don't need immigration reform, we need you to enforce the law!
Well, I'm kinda quirky that way. I prefer to read for myself and draw my own conclusions.
That didn't stop me, however, from emailing Congressman Reichert and expressing my hope that the House will do their job and insist on enforcement before there is any talk of what to do with the people already here.
My senators are a lost cause (Murray and CantDoWell), but I may email them anyway just to annoy them.
I guess President Shrub will have to lock up all 11,000 of these agents along with Ramos and Compean.
I used to write to my Congressman (John Olver,Mass) about different issues and the guy would occasionally send me a form letter back on them. He NEVER agreed with me on a single issue,however there still might be hope.I never asked him what color the sky was on a sunny day !!!
“One requirement is that the applicant must prove he is here illegally.”
Watch the ACLU get on this one. How does one prove they are ILLEGAL? That kind of sounds like you will be forced to “incriminate” yourself. Will there be a constitutional question here?
From the protestors on the illegal side, that appears to be their primary concern.
Pinatas?
I don't think so.
The piñatas remark shows how naive these staffers are. They live in cocoons.
And they might be right.
We're sure going to find out.
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