NumbersUSA Assessing Our Battle Over Next 3 Weeks

From: Roy Beck, President, NumbersUSA
Date: Monday 19JUN06 2:30 a.m. EDT


Assessing our battle over next 3 weeks to win in Congress .... And some good news

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HERE'S WHERE IMMIGRATION SITS IN CONGRESS AT THIS MOMENT (as best we can assess the situation)

You -- the American people -- have gotten your message through to most Members of Congress.

The most radical open-borders legislation in history (passed by the Senate in May) has stalled -- for now.

We are asking all of you to step up your pressure on your 2 Senators and 1 Congressman/woman these next three weeks. After they go home for the week of Independence Day and return to Washington July 11, we want them to be even more sure that the popular will is AGAINST any amnesty and any increase in overall immigration.

What do you need to do? Check the ACTIONS IN BRIEF box in the right column.)

A reminder that at stake is a bill that would provide an amnesty path to U.S. citizenship to around 10 million illegal aliens and would allow giving permanent residency greencards to around 60 million foreign workers and dependents over the next 20 years alone.

Your NumbersUSA Capitol Hill staff have been busily working directly with top congressional staff, with the actual elected Members of both Senate and House and even leading them on tours of the Mexican border.

Here is what we see at the moment:

GOOD NEWS #1: House leaders have used technical procedure to force Senate to have to pass its immigration bill AGAIN -- or drop it.

In April and May, the Senate open-borders champions were playing so fast and loose with procedure -- and were in such a panic to pass a giant amnesty/immigration increase before election season arrived -- that they included provisions that would raise revenue.

Leaders of the U.S. House have cried foul and said those Senate provisions violate the Constitution which allows only the House to start legislation that raises revenue.

Despite the seriousness of constitutionality, this might have been allowed to slide if all of you had not made the Senate amnesty so radioactive. Our friends in the Senate have been working to use the procedural issue to bog down the process of sending the Senate amnesty over to the House. And our House allies have used an obscure produre called "blue-slipping" to refuse to allow the Senate bill to go into a joint Senate/House Conference negotiating committee.

This is forcing Senate Majority Leader Frist (R-TN) and Senate Minority Leader Reid (D-NV) -- both huge players in pushing the amnesty through last month -- to try to come up with a way to re-craft part of the bill or pull a parliamentary trick that could technically get it past constitutional challenges.

But they have different political agendas for influencing their Party's chances of taking the majority in the Senate in this fall's elections. Fortunately for us, their lack of trust in each other and lack of interest in true bi-partisanship is working in our favor. We don't want Frist and Reid to see eye to eye.

GOOD NEWS #2: Our Senate allies appear ready to use the second chance to slow everything down.

I was in a small conversational circle at a Capitol reception last week in which a Democratic Senator told Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) that he couldn't see any way that the Senate amnesty could pass the Senate a second time this summer.

The Senator said the chances for pro-borders Senators to use procedural delays may bottle up the amnesty bill in the Senate where it would die.

If our friends in the Senate feel pushed by their constituents to keep fighting against open borders at every turn, they could force four or five procedural votes before the amnesty bill could get out of the Senate. And they could force each of those votes to require long public debates. Sen. Frist may not be pro-amnesty enough to want to use up so much of the summer calendar. And open-borders Senate leaders of both Parties may not want to further expose themselves to the public outcry they got when they voted for the amnesty in May.

GOOD NEWS #3: House Speaker Hastert says the Senate amnesty bill is so radically different from the House enforcement bill that he probably would require public hearings on the Senate bill.

The Speaker's announcement this last week surprised nearly everybody. It is highly unprecedented.

But holding hearings would provide a far greater chance to publicize the most controversial and radical parts of the Senate bill which were swept under the rug by the news media and the majority of Senators in May.

And it would further slow things down.

The main effect of Hastert's announcement may have been to make Sen. Frist even less eager to push the amnesty through the Senate again -- if it is just going to get bogged down in the House.

GOOD NEWS #4: American voters' phone calls and written messages are overwhelmingly on our side.

Sweet music to our ears are the lamentations and crisis whines from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which did most of the writing of the McCain/Kennedy amnesty bill that formed most of the legislation passed by the Senate in May.

AILA has just sent out an urgent appeal to its thousands of lawyer members and its allied open-borders groups. The emailed appeal was titled:

Anti-Immigrant Calls to Congress Outnumbering CIR Advocates 400 to 1! Call and Email Today!!

We assume "CIR" stands for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The AILA appeal said that "restrictionists are flooding" the phone lines, fax machines, mail and email boxes.

Hmmmmm, I wonder who could be making THAT happen.

AILA said our immigration-reduction members are making:

"... angry demands that their Senators and Representatives vote against any legislation that provides a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Their calls for an enforcement-only immigration policy are louder and more aggressive than ever and there are 400 of them for every 1 call from us (the open-borders side).

"The 400 to 1 intensity of the opposition to comprehensive immigration reform is expected to crescendo into the November elections, making it a likely voting issue at the polls. We cannot stop fighting now. We cannot let the restrictionists hijack this national debate by painting the Senate compromise as amnesty. We cannot be silent while they scream.

"Please, continue to fight for workable immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented immigrants who live and work in the US. Start by emailing your Senators to thank them for supporting S. 2611 or to rebuke them for opposing it. Next, call your US Representative to express support for comprehensive immigration reform. Then, encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to do the same."

I hope AILA's appeal -- the voice of the open-borders lobbyists -- gives you a big pat on the back for all the phoning, faxing and office visiting you have done the last three months.

But I also hope it reminds you that your efforts may be the only thing that can stop a giant amnesty and immigration increase that is sought by virtually all of Washington D.C.'s rich lobbying firms, by President Bush and by the leaders of the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee.

Those open-borders lobbyists recognize that your phone calls and faxes are the elements stopping them from getting their open-borders dreams.

They are beginning to do everything they can to imitate your success.

It is essential that you not allow the open-borders lobbyists to drum up more phone calls and faxes than our side is making.

If things seem bleak to your from our side, consider how much panic there is on the open-borders side that they are going to miss their window of opportunity this year!

GOOD NEWS #5: Congressman Tom Tancredo's Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus now has more than 100 U.S. Representatives as members.

Although it has a few Democrats, probably the most important aspect of the caucus is that it is close to having half the Republican majority in its membership.

Now, the Members of this caucus do not walk in lockstep with Rep. Tancredo. In fact, several of the Members joined the caucus primarily to try to get people like you off their back. Nonetheless, the size of the caucus gives Mr. Tancredo a tremendous platform with the media and Republican leadership in the House.

In the middle of last week, Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) became the 100th member of the Caucus. At the end of the week, Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH) joined as its 101st member.

“As the IRC has grown so has the illegal immigration issue grown in Americans’ consciousness," Tancredo said. "When I started the Caucus in 1999, we had few friend and allies in Congress. Today, the IRC is one of the largest and most active caucuses in the House. Our size and the force of our arguments dictate that we have a seat at the table.

“The IRC includes Republicans and Democrats from California to New Hampshire. We represent the vast majority of Americans who want our borders secured and illegal immigration stopped.”

The Immigration Reform Caucus was established in May 1999 to review current immigration policy, to initiate new immigration policy, and to create a much-needed forum in Congress to examine both the benefits and negative consequences of immigration. in this email:
ABOUT THE 'PAUL REVERE' MOTORCYCLE RIDE across America that is promoting immigration reductions ... and NumbersUSA.com

TOM TANCREDO'S IMMIGRATION-REDUCTION CAUCUS now has more than 100 Members


actions in brief:
DO MONDAY:
Watch for emails with links to new faxes -- and keep a close eye on your Action Buffet corkboard giving you important new faxes to send and phone calls to make.

Check for your latest free faxes at:
NumbersUSA.com/actionbuffet

DO RIGHT NOW:
Fill out -- or update -- your NumbersUSA INTEREST SURVEY

Most of the new faxes we put up this week will show up only for people based on which political party (or other memberships, affiliations and interests) that you have chosen in the survey.

Take the INTEREST SURVEY by clicking here:

numbersusa.com/survey?action=longlist

DO NOW:
1. Tell us about any public appearance that any of your 3 Members of Congress have scheduled.

2. Watch for notices on your Action Buffet corkboard that alert you to upcoming appearances by your Members. And then attend so you can ask questions, applaud others who speak on our side, etc.

As important as every other action is during these next 3 weeks, the most powerful thing you can do is be present to help push our cause when your Members of Congress are in your area.
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EMAILS FROM YOU TO THE NUMBERSUSA STAFF

"I am sending my check this week. I wish it would be more. I will also encourage my family to donate.
We have been betrayed and I am not sure we can turn the tide."
-----Cathryn

"You have encouraged me when I felt so dejected and broken. It was painful seeing my country and those who died to serve it disrespected the way they were with those mass rallies. The foreign flags and the 'This is the way its going to be' attitude was too much for me to bear. I think the rallies woke America up to an unlawful yet demanding force
at work in this country! I appreciate your leadership and ability to provide all this objective information. You are a gift."
------Gail Brewer

"Thank you for continuing to help this country! I am only 25 yrs. old & am scared to see this country in 20 years when I have children of my own! Please make another fax to send. I have been telling friends about Numbersusa & they all want to be contacted for the next fax. God bless."
----- Katherine Owens

"I really enjoy this site and find it extremely helpful, convenient and informative. I will be making a donation to your organization soon."
------Kerrie Horn

" God bless you for fighting the good fight. I made calls to not only my two California senators, both traitors to our country, but to the two in Arizona and Kentucky. I urge everyone to continue supporting you monthly with a pledge as I have."
------Richard Wira

"God bless all of you for making it easy for us to contact our Congressmen. I have worked, prayed, and called many of those senators voting for S2611 and tried to persuade them to vote for the American citizens instead of lobbyists, corporations, illegal aliens, and foreigners. I reminded them that the problems we have with health, education, Medicare, Social Security, and national security are results of not enforcing the laws on immigration for 20 years and not securing the border. The focus on foreigners to supply our nation's workers instead of focusing on allowing our young people to fill these jobs is incredulous. Thank you and your Team of Patriots who are giving so much to secure America for our children and grandchildren."
------Joyce Ellington

"Just wanted to drop you a line on your website -- Absolutely Great. Has the info we need to form our own decisions regarding immigration. And yes to contact the people who seem to forget who they represent. P.S. I have contributed in the past and will in the future if necessary and when can afford.
------Barry Champagne

"The service you are providing concerned Americans is phenomenal." ------Jim Spears, Human Resources Manager
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WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE US?


Your grassroots pressure on Members of Congress has been so overwhelming that even many major news media commentators have begun to routinely say that the citizens who are worked up about this seem to be mostly on the restriction side.

As noted above, your pressure seems to be tying many Members of Congress into knots.

But we cannot be complacent or assume that Members will continue to do the right thing without more pressure.

We will keep you informed.


A 21st Century PAUL REVERE motorcycle ride across the country


Please note that NumbersUSA is not organizing this event, but we thought you might want to know about it. Please see the contact information below if you have questions or want to participate.

Nonetheless, at every stop, these motorcyclists are encouraging the public to sign onto the NumbersUSA action system.

Motorcyclists: Consider riding a few miles to help draw media.

The 21st Century Paul Revere Ride of 2006 is a summer-long cross-country motorcycle ride that will visit all state capitols to inform the public and their elected public servants of the severity of the immigration crisis. The ride began in Denver and will terminate in Washington, DC.

The ride is underway!

Riders left Denver on May 29, 2006, and are on their way to Washington D.C. If they haven't already roared through your state -- and if you don't live in Hawaii or Alaska, they will be making a stop in your state sometime in the near future.

CONTACT HOWARD FOR MEETING PLACE AND DETAILS

Meeting points for interested person will be made ad hoc by contacting the Ride Coordinator, Howard J. Wooldridge at: 817-975-1110.

If you want to participate, give Howard a call. You can arrange to ride your motorcycle with the group, or you can meet up at a rally point.

You can get other details on their website http://www.21stcenturypaulrevereride.us/.

We are sending out an update and alert to people in each state a few days before Frosty's biker brigade is expected to arrive. Watch for that Alert.

Frosty and his brother Howard have a history of garnering a lot of publicity. Here is Frosty's email to me this past week:

Dear Roy,

Well, you should be receiving hundreds of new members because we're reaching thousands and thousands of people. We've sold 600 T-shirts with your website. We've been national on Fox News TV and will have a 30 minute TV interview this Sunday.

We've hit 8 state capitals, 24 TV shows, 25 paper interviews and 20 radio shows. We got in SF Chronicle with 800,000 readers and 1 million on line.

We pass out the action letter to everyone so you should be growing as we pass it out at truck stops, rallies, stops, restaurants, pin it up everywhere and all we meet.

Frosty
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Update your NumbersUSA Interest Survey This may be a good time for you to make sure that you've let us know all of the areas of immigration reform in which you are interested. Click here to further customize your Interest Survey and the type of alerts you receive from us.

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