Posted on 06/17/2007 7:19:24 PM PDT by WOSG
This is a links and activism-central thread to collect the information on the status and effort to defeat the Senate Immigration bill, especially the egregious Z visa amnesty program, in its second attempt at passage.
The Vampire Strikes Back
The nefarious back-room dealers in the US Senate announced on Thursday night that they were bringing the Senate Immigration bill, killed on a previous cloture vote, back from the dead. Senators are trolling for votes. The future of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA hangs in the balance as they try to drum up support for the sellout of the century. WILL GRASSROOTS AMERICA STOP THE TIDE? You decide!
"The immigration system is not "broken," the only thing that is broken is the will to uphold the law. Your administration's lack of will to meet its obligations regarding immigration enforcement is disrespectful toward all American citizens and legal immigrants." - Costa Mesa City council, letter to the President on immigration.
1) SENATE BILL IS UNPOPULAR: Low support for Senate immigration bill. The Senate immigration bill is opposed by a more than 2 to 1 margin (Rasmussen poll): Favor 23%, Oppose 50%. "Sixty-nine percent (69%) of voters would favor an approach that focuses “exclusively on securing the border and reducing illegal immigration.” Support for the enforcement only approach comes from 84% of Republicans, 55% of Democrats, and 69% of those not affiliated with either major party." And why not? Working Americans are not stupid about immigration. Not to mention the politics of Blacks vs immigrants.
2) THE GOP BASE REJECTS THE BILL: Conservative bloggers revolt over immigration - Gee, no kidding. Bush flunkies bashing the base doesn't help any. Ingraham smokes Tony Snow on borders. And Bush's emotions are no way to lead on immigration policy. Bush at all-time low in approval on heels of his support for 'comprehensive' immigration amnesty. Now we see Operation Payback underway. Heather MacDonald on the GOP's Hispanic Delusion. Gerson recites the pro-amensty talking points, and talks down to the right.
3) THE DEALMAKERS PLANS AND THE PROCESS STINKS: NRO: Harry Reid's plan to pass the immigration bill. Bush's $4 billion border bribe tries to buy votes. The key vote is cloture and Sentor Lott pre-announces the plan to sellout America by stripping amendments in conference. The process is an outrage and the product is a monstrosity. Bush's clout is 'all used up' on immigration. Latest update. Good news: It can be stopped.Public pressure has to stop the Senators from getting pulled by the insider-lobbying.
4) SENATE BILL HAS HUGE LOOPHOLES: 20 Loopholes in the Senate immigration bill. Z Visa: Z IS FOR ZERO. ZERO ENFORCEMENT. ZERO DEPORTATIONS. Krauthammer talks sense - why not do the one thing we all agree on? Secure the border first. Micheal Steele says it too; this man should have been our RNC chair, instead of Martinez! Immigration bill is a fraud. Verification issues: Too Much Federal Meddling in verification. Verification that can work. The sham of Jobs Americans won't do.
5) BUSH WHITE HOUSE - Z is for ZERO CREDIBILITY ON IMMIGRATION: What the White House said about the fence - last October. Bush's Top 5 Reason for doing immigration reform. Malkin: Clear the backlogs first and Rules of engagement on why we don't deport criminal aliens.
6) WHAT TO SAY - my communications to Senators:
People want the legal immigration system to work;
we want the border secured and immigration laws enforced, and we do NOT want unlimited
immigration, legal or illegal. The Z visa amnesty/legalization will undercut these pillars, and
voters do not trust the Congress and Government to keep promises on enforcement
that were broken by the 1986 amnesty. To repeat that travesty is a terrible and flawed idea.
The American people no longer trust Washington on this issue; we know 'triggers' are a
hoax, especially since making the triggers more real (Coburn Amendment) was not passed.
The border fence bill was passed (over 80 Senate votes) and signed last year; so why now is
the border fence completion hostage to this wider immigration bill?
The Senate bill is opposed strongly because it pretends to uphold border security
and enforcing the law, but it actually undermines them completely with
the Z visa amnesty/legalization program and its many 'gotchas'.
This Z visa legalization is indeed amnesty, it forgives the real punishment (deportation). The 'fine' is less than
H1B lawyers and fees cost (I work with H1B immigrants in high-tech), so it is more of a processing fee than a fine;
the program is set up for fraud, with pathetic documentation requirements, just as in 1986; Cornyn's
amendment to close off amnesty to absconders and all criminals was denied; this bill allows permanent
(since Z visa is renewable until green card) residency instantly to 12 million illegal immigrants,
majority of them without High School degrees, massively shifting our immigration patterns to the
least skilled and most likely to be dependent; there are no language requirements for 10 years into
a visa that leads to permanent residency. Senator Sessions has compiled 20 loopholes in the
bill, most related to failures in the Z visa program.
This amnesty repeats the mistakes of 1986 on a grand scale, as Senators Cornyn and Hutchison have warned.
It undermines rule of law in immigration, invites huge fraud in amnesty applications and further illegal
immigration via weak document requirements and a mere 24-hour turnaround on provisional acceptance;
crowds out higher-skill legal immigrants; creates a massive increased burden on taxpayers
($2.5 Trillion estimate from Heritage) along with unfunded mandates on states and local Governments.
And for what, exactly? CBO has indicated that illegal immigration in the next 10 years
will still be significant with this bill - a huge amnesty, but more illegal immigration. Pathetic!
The Z visa legalization/amnesty is a slap in the face to legal immigrants, taxpayers,
and anyone who cares about the rule of law.
AmericaOne
Here is the thread you suggested...
Now lets get all the contact and “WARROOM” info collated.
THIS IS THE PRO-AMNESTY TEAMS GAME PLAN - THIS WEEK IS CRITICAL:
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MmJiMzVmZTZjNjE2ZWM4MDhiMWYzYTI3NjQ1ZjU4NmE=
Here is what we expect to happen next week, though it is far from clear yet. In short, we expect it to come up this week, and if Senators (as we expect) object to unanimous consent agreements, it will take the better part of 6-8 days to get this done. They will not get it done this week (but Reid threatens to stay in next weekend).
1. We expect Reid, in conjunction with support from McConnell, Lott and Grand Bargainers Kyl, Martinez, Graham and McCain, to introduce a brand new piece of legislation - and use Rule 14 to put the bill immediately on the Senate calendar without going thru committee - which of course, the first bill did not do as well.
* It is possible that Reid will choose a different procedural path - but we expect the effect to be the same.
2. We expect that the new bill’s drafters (White House, Kennedy, Kyl, Graham, et. al.) will use close to the same language as the original substitute amendment (the first immigration bill) as amended by the 14 Democrat and 13 Republican amendments adopted the the first go round.
3. A new Rule 14 bill takes 1-2 days to ripen, and then we expect Reid to file cloture on the motion to proceed (a step he will need to take because numerous Senators are objecting to any unanimous consent agreements). The cloture motion takes time to ripen, so that adds a full day and change before the vote (60). Then, there is 30 hours of “post cloture debate” that a number of Senators will refuse to allow to be shortened.
4. When the 30 hours expire, Reid will have the vote on the motion to proceed to the bill (majority).
4. Once on the bill, Reid will again file cloture (to shut off debate - again, a number of Senators will continue to object to unanimous consent agreements) - this time on the bill itself.
5. The guessing begins at this point - but we expect Reid - with the help and support of certain Republican leadership and the Grand Bargainers - to do something that we believe has never been done in the history of the Senate... he will use an arcane Senate procedure that allows a single amendment to be divisible into many - in this case, into the 20-odd amendments the Grand Bargainers are trying to cobble together to keep 60 votes in support of the bill. Traditionally, that amendment has been used to protect minority rights - but in this case, it will be used to PREVENT the minority from getting additional amendments called up and from being able to fully debate the amendments in question. It is, to our knowledge, unprecedented.
6. Once the cloture motion ripens (again, another day and change), the cloture vote can occur (60 votes) and then, again, there is 30 hours of “post cloture debate” during which Reid will run, in order, through the panoply of amendments offered by way of the division.
7. Finally, there will be a vote on final passage.
If Reid does this, with the help of certain Republican leadership and the Grand Bargainers, they will shut off the ability of Senators with concerns of the bill to offer additional amendments and to debate the amendments in question.
In the end, this means that if they have 60 lined up to support it - there is little that can be done procedurally - so it has become far more important than ever for Senators to hear from their constituents.
McConnell says immigration is too close to call:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/17/AR2007061700609.html
“When we get to final passage, it’s hard to know whether the votes will be there to pass it or not,” McConnell said. “We’ll finish Senate consideration of the immigration bill one way or the other.”
From Numbers USA - Phoning and faxing made the difference:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1851804/posts
“The following are the Senators whom we are feeling quite good about. You should find ways to thank them for being so sensitive to the needs of your state’s workers and communities and urge them to just fight harder to stop S. 1348.
(* in front of Senators up for re-election in 2008.)
The KILL BILL Caucus
DEMOCRATS (8) * Baucus (MT) Byrd (WV) Dorgan (ND) * Landrieu (LA) McCaskill (MO) Tester (MT) * Pryor (AR) * Rockefeller (WV)
REPUBLICANS (19) * Alexander (TN) * Allard (CO) Bond (MO) Bunning (KY) Coburn (OK) Corker (TN) * Cornyn (TX) Crapo (ID) DeMint (SC) * Dole (NC) * Enzi (WY) Grassley (IA) * Inhofe (OK) * Roberts (KS) * Sessions (AL) Shelby (AL) * Smith, G. (OR) Thune (SD) Vitter (LA)
A special hero’s garland should drape four Senators who have been absolutely courageous leaders in battling the power of the White House and of the Democratic Party Leadership — and taking incredible abuse from most of the elite national news media.
THE HEROIC LEADERS Sessions (R-Ala.) Dorgan (D-N.D.) DeMint (R-S.C.) Vitter (R-La.)
If all 98 Senators vote, we will need 39 NO votes on cloture to kill this bill.
Congratulations to all of you in the states of these 27 Senators. But we have to get 12 more for sure. Right now, I see 13 others who look like really good possibilities if their constituents can just give them the right message in sufficient quantity. And there are another half-dozen or so who are not out of the question. “
There is a disturbance in the force.
Count me in on this one, even though overseas at present.
El Presidente works tirelessly, and will not stop until our country is totally screwed! We must work twice as hard to persuade our lawmakers. I fear the senate is a lost cause, but I’m sure this monstrosity can be killed in the house.
God, I wish El Presidente would have put this much fight and effort into social security reform, among other things.
I was watching UNITED 93 last night, and I have not stopped crying and yelling in rage at my TV.
How dare these congress people allow our immigration to run amok .. how dare they scoff at us and tell us to shut up .. when they have already forgotten the people WHO DIED TO SAVE YOUR SORRY REAR ENDS.
They don’t deserve OUR VOTES or OUR MONEY .. and until they put America first and not the Mexican govt (and the democrats) .. they will get neither from me. And .. I’m not alone in this sentiment.
PING for “Kill Bill II: The Vampire Strikes Back (Fight the Senate Immigration Bill)”
More #s (courtest of 2ndDivVet and TennesseeNana):
A toll free number for any member of the US Senate or House...(888) 534-6226
U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121
U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121
White House comments: (202) 456-1111
Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
CALL! CALL! CALL! CALL! AND KEEP CALLING TILL THE LINES FRY!
WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! TILL YOU RUN OUT OF INK IN YOUR PEN!
Bombard the Democrats as well, especially the ones that ran on an anti illegal immigration plank and the ones in marginal districts who could be vulnerable. keep pounding on them. This is a bipartisan issue not a Conservative or Liberal issue BUT AN AMERICAN issue.
PING! Via Laura Ingraham ...
http://lauraingraham.com/
Below is the list of 15 GOP senators that the amnesty pushers want to flip to their side (asterisked senators are up for re-election in 2008)
* * Alexander (R-TN)
* Bennett (R-UT)
* * Cochran (R-MS)
* * Coleman (R-MN)
* * Collins (R-ME)
* * Cornyn (R-TX)
* * Craig (R-ID)
* * Domenici (R-NM)
* Gregg (R-NH)
* Hatch (R-UT)
* Hutchison (R-TX)
* Kyl (R-AZ)
* Lott (R-MS)
* * McConnell (R-KY)
* Murkowski (R-AK)
* * Smith (R-OR)
* Snowe (R-ME)
* Stevens (R-AK)
* * Warner (R-VA)
Illegal-Immigration Activism Ping...
A good source for the ‘skinny’ on the Vampire Strikes Back bill...
http://www.rightwingnews.com/mt331/2007/06/the_inside_story_on_whats_happ.php
“My source also noted that the cloture vote to end debate will be the “real” vote on the bill because if debate is closed off, the bill is sure to pass. Then, what will happen is that the votes for the bill will be counted, and a few Senators who are afraid that their election prospects will be jeopardized by a “yes” vote, will be allowed to vote against the bill. This enables those Senators to tell their constituents that they voted against the bill, but it will still allow them to collect campaign contributions from lobbyists who have a better understanding of how things work, and know that the bill couldn’t have been passed without their support. Put another way, they get to reap the rewards of supporting amnesty while telling the voters in their home states that they opposed the bill.
My source also let me know that the White House and the Senate leadership, and Trent Lott in particular, are pushing very hard for this bill.”
Thanks. Kill Bill II BUMP!
George: STIFLE!
Bttt!
Yahoo only allows you to send to a certain number of people at once (hence the multiple blocks of email addresses, instead of one block) and will also only let you send a certain number
of emails in a time period. I was only allowed to send two blocks in a row. Make emails of all blocks and after sending two, save the others as a "draft" to send later when yahoo let's you do so.
tom_ingram@alexander.senate.gov,david_morgenstern@alexander.senate.gov,scot_montrey@alexander.senate.gov,lee_pitts@alexander.senate.gov,sean_conway@allard.senate.gov,charles_cogar@allard.senate.gov,laura_condeluci@allard.senate.gov,steve_wymer@allard.senate.gov,maryjane_collipriest@bennett.senate.gov, mark_morrison@bennett.senate.gov,emily_christensen@bennett.senate.gov,brian_klippenstein@bond.senate.gov,kara_smith@bond.senate.gov,shana_marchio@bond.senate.gov,glen_chambers@brownback.senate.gov,brian_robertson@brownback.senate.gov,john_rankin@brownback.senate.gov,brian_hart@brownback.senate.gov, blake_brickman@bunning.senate.gov,kim_dean@bunning.senate.gov,mike_reynard@bunning.senate.gov,alicia_peterson-clark@burr.senate.gov,alicia_petersonclark@burr.senate.gov,Natasha_hickman@burr.senate.gov,laura_caudell@burr.senate.gov,mark_williams@burr.senate.gov,charlie_harmon@chambliss.senate.gov,monty_philpot@chambliss.senate.gov, annelaurie_waters@chambliss.senate.gov,Angie_Lundberg@Chambliss.Senate.gov,Lindsay_mabry@chambliss.senate.gov,jenny_manley@cochran.senate.gov,ta_hawks@cochran.senate.gov,margaret_wicker@cochran.senate.gov,margaret_mcphillips@cochran.senate.gov,Jennifer_lowe@coleman.senate.gov,lucia_lebens@coleman.senate.gov
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