Amnesty Shattered, But Not Dead Yet

By: Joe Murray, The Bulletin
07/26/2007

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It has been close to four weeks since a tidal wave of discontent crashed upon the steps of Capitol Hill and washed the Kennedy-McCain-Bush immigration bill out to sea. With amnesty defeated, conservative grassroots activists are still toasting champagne flutes, and why shouldn't they be?

The result of this victory has sent shockwaves throughout the Beltway and has made elected officials think twice about the "a-word": "Amnesty."
"People are petrified of this issued after what happened to the Senate bill," stated Colorado congressman and GOP presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo on an Iowa radio show Monday.

"We had two votes on this bill - Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday we got 36 votes, but were hoping for 41 because that is what we needed to stop cloture. On Thursday we got 53. ... Every single person who changed their vote ... [is] running for re-election in 2008."
Tancredo explained that border security advocates shut down the Senate phone lines and were instrumental in giving the lawmakers a reality check. And such a check may have spilt over to the House of Representatives.

The Washington Times reported yesterday that Congressman Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., the architect of the 2006 Democrat takeover of Congress, told a group of Hispanic activists that any real immigration reform would not be touched by the House until at least 2012.

Juan Salgado, chairman of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said that "Congressman Rahm Emanuel said to me two weeks ago, there is no way this legislation is happening in the Democratic House, in the Democratic Senate, in the Democratic presidency, in the first term."

When asked to comment, Emanuel's spokesperson reasoned that such a wait was necessary because President Bush and Republicans failed to put principle before politics. But is the Kennedy-McCain-Bush immigration bill truly out to sea, or are pieces of it washing back up onto the steps of the Capitol Building?

"So far (amnesty advocates) are just going around trying to find people who will sign on to bits and pieces of the whole thing. ... They are trying to see how many Republicans they can peel away," stated Tancredo.

Bob Dane, communications director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), notes that those who backed the broken bill are trying to piece the legislative eggshells back together. Specifically, Dane pointed to the Dream Act - a piece of legislation that would subsidize college education for illegals - and a push to increase the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

"Even though Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has told us he has a 'gut' feeling about a terrorist attack, a House conference is trying to increase the VWP," explained Dane. The VWP permits citizens from 27 nations to enter the U.S. without a visa and is strongly support by business and tourism interests. The danger, though, is that it could serve as a gateway for terrorists.

With Chertoff already admitting that "Europe could become a platform for an attack against this country," the folks at FAIR are calling for an immediate suspension of the program.

"After Madrid 2004, London 2005, and Glasgow last month, there can be no doubt that there are lethal and committed Islamic terrorist cells active all across Western Europe. Many of these terrorists are citizens of those countries and, under the VWP, they can easily enter the U.S. with no prior screening," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR.

"The other side is going to try and put the immigration bill back together piece by piece to make it less obvious," said Dane. Bay Buchanan, senior advisor to the Tancredo campaign, agrees and feels the open border crowd, despite the defeat of the bill, is still winning.

"(Amnesty advocates) win each day because more and more illegal immigrants are coming into the country," Buchanan stated. Each month border patrol agents apprehend approximately 150,000 illegals breaking into the country, with scores more breaching security.

Buchanan argues that if border security proponents are going to win this debate, they will have to do two things: defeat amnesty-friendly politicians and support states and municipalities that enact laws curbing illegal immigration.

"There is no tolerance for amnesty. ... We must defeat amnesty politicians, no matter how friendly they were in the past. ... We must defeat those who sell us out," stated Buchanan.

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