Senate passes "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006"

Senate passes "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006"

The "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006" passed the United States Senate on May 25, by a vote of 62-36. Legislation to secure U.S. borders and offer millions of illegal immigrants access to the American dream cleared the Senate on Thursday, a rare election-year reach across party lines and a triumph for President Bush. The vote cleared the way for arduous summertime compromise talks with the House and its more conservative measure — with no guarantee of success," the AP writes. "'This bill will not secure our borders,' said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., one of the most persistent critics. "This is amnesty," added David Vitter, R-La., who tried last week to strip out provisions relating to citizenship.

Rather than face the reality of today's immigration crisis, the Senate has enacted a terrible bill that once again puts the interests of the American people last. The bill's cost is staggering, the administrative burdens crushing and the consequences for the cohesion of the future American nation -- no longer bound by a common destiny of the rule of law -- are severe. Illegalimmigrants.org stridently opposes any compromise with the House on this irresponsible and arrogant bit of legislating.

The American people have been demanding that their elected officials take action to limit illegal immigration first by securing our borders, then by addressing guest worker reform. Unfortunately, this bill reversed those priorities. Rewarding illegal immigrants with amnesty without taking adequate steps to secure our borders is the wrong way to address this problem.

America is a welcoming nation that was built by immigrants, but it is also a nation governed by the rule of law. Rewarding illegal immigrants with a clear path to citizenship and voting rights is unfair to the millions of individuals who immigrated to this country legally. This approach will also make the problem of illegal immigration worse, which is precisely what happened after Congress passed a similar law in 1986.

It is impossible for Congress to accurately assess our need for guest workers before we have taken the steps necessary to secure our borders. It is important for Congress to understand that the public will not trust them on this issue until our borders are secure. Once they take that step, I believe the American people would support a compassionate and common sense plan for dealing with our need for guest workers and the 12 million illegal immigrants who are already here.

It's hard to justify legislation that would reward millions of law-breakers, attract more illegal immigrants, and futher depress American workers' wages. The Senate bill may be good for other countries and foreign workers, but it's not good for America and American workers.

Although the bill contains some enforcement measures, how can a government that has not enforced current immigration laws be expected to enforce new ones?

The Senators who sold out the American public for corporate interests and who do not deserve to be reelected voted "yea":
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S.Amdt.4089 and 4188 contain the following language whereby the United States Govenment needs Mexico's approval concerning the security of our border:

S.Amdt.4089: CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.--Consultations between United States and Mexican authorities at the federal, state, and local levels concerning the construction of additional fencing and related border security structures along the United States-Mexico border shall be undertaken prior to commencing any new construction, in order to solicit the views of affected communities, lessen tensions and foster greater understanding and stronger cooperation on this and other important issues of mutual concern.

S.Amdt.4188: Managers' amendment, a collection of amendments, including Dodd's S.Amdt.4089 that requires local, state and federal governments to consult with Mexican counterpart authorities before commencing new construction, was PASSED on a 56 - 41 vote.
MEXICO ESSENTIALLY GETS VETO POWER OVER OUR SECURE BORDER INTIATIVE.

The American people expect Congress to secure our borders and stop the flood of illegal immigration, and House Republicans responded by passing a strong border security bill that re-establishes basic respect for our immigration laws. Now that the Senate has passed a bill we can wipe our butts with, we owe it to the American people to seek common ground on responsible solutions, while always stressing our most important priority is to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration.

I urge House Democrats, who have constantly advocated troubling policies that encourage open borders and invite more illegal immigrants into our country, to join us in supporting a strong bill that addresses the concerns of the American people and makes our borders more secure.
read more at http://illegalimmigrants.org/