Thread: Both sides target Boxer in immigration debate

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/ne ... 740536.php

The California senator remains on the fence over a comprehensive overhaul measure.

WASHINGTON -- The night the immigration bill almost died, California's junior senator was on the floor of the chamber, cornered by two other lawmakers.

They weren't senators. They were California Reps. Joe Baca and Dennis Cardoza – emissaries from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus – trying to convince Sen. Barbra Boxer to vote yes on a motion to keep the controversial bill alive.

She voted no.

Her vote stunned supporters of the bill. All of a sudden they realized they had taken a yes vote from Boxer for granted. And while they concentrated on getting more Republican votes and working on other Democratic senators who had been more outspoken on the measure, Hispanic groups in California and some powerful labor leaders were lobbying her to vote against it.

No more. Now, with the bill expected back on the Senate floor next week, supporters and opponents are taking no one's position for granted.

"I think she's had an opportunity to hear from a lot more people,'' said Frank Sharry of the National Immigration Forum. He said her vote revealed "that people who wanted her to vote no had been working pretty hard on her and those who had wanted her to vote yes hadn't.''

How Boxer will vote when the legislation returns to the Senate floor next week is still a mystery.

"I have a lot of people who like the bill and a lot of people who don't,'' Boxer said in a brief interview. "I'm trying to find the wisdom to try to do the right thing.''

The immigration bill includes increased border and interior security, a plan to legalization an estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants and a temporary worker program.

"With more funding it might be more attractive,'' Boxer said. "With some good amendments it may be more attractive. With some bad amendments it may be less.''

Boxer insists she doesn't feel pressured on this vote. But activists on both sides of the question said they have turned up the heat on the senator. Farm workers and the leader of their union, Arturo Rodriquez, have met with her and her staff in an effort to get a yes vote.

Other immigrant advocacy groups from California have been continuing to urge her to vote no.

Organized labor and Hispanic groups are split on the immigration bill. Unions such as Service Employees International Union and the Farm Worker Union want the Senate bill to pass and hope to change what they don't like in the House. But the AFL-CIO and many building trade unions don't believe the bill is fixable.

Most of the high-profile national Hispanic groups as well as clergy and other human rights groups say while they oppose many elements of the bill – like changes in the ability of families to be reunited – they want the process to continue and the bill move to the House. Other, more grass roots-oriented groups vehemently oppose the Senate measure. They say the bill wouldn't really lead to legalization for immigrants because of excessive fines and complex rules.

One person who says she hasn't tried to convince her colleague to support the bill is Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of the members of the bipartisan coalition that drafted it.

Clearly not interested in talking about her fellow California senator, Feinstein just said "no" when asked if she was going to try and get Boxer to support the bill. Why? "Because I don't think she will,'' Feinstein said.

Boxer has never been a major player on the immigration front. She is not a member of the Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over immigration. And issues like the environment have always been at the forefront for her.

But she has been a strong supporter of the Ag Jobs portion of the bill and as strong an opponent of the temporary guest worker provision in the measure.

In a letter to Baca and Rep. Louis Guitierrez, D-Ill., the author of a comprehensive immigration bill he hopes to move in the House, Boxer said that if the bill on the Senate floor is enacted she believes it would "lead to the exploitation of workers, including the 12 million undocumented immigrants we all hope to put on the path to citizenship. I also believe it will exert downward pressure on wages at a time when we are already losing our middle class.''

It's that portion of the bill – the new guest worker program – that Boxer has concentrated on the most.

The bill that went to the floor woul dhave allowed 400,000 new guest workers a year to enter the country. Since then, an amendment passed cutting the program to 200,000. Also, in a major victory for Boxer and others opposed to any temporary worker provision, that part of the bill would end in five years unless Congress were to reauthorize it.

And, perhaps in an effort to garner her vote, the so-called "grand bargainers," who are trying to hold the bill together, agreed this week to give Boxer a vote one of her amendments.

Under her proposal, for every guest worker who fails to abide by the rules and go home after his or her work period ended, the temporary worker program would be reduced by one. Boxer is hoping to build more accountability into the bill with such a provision and it could also reduce the size of the temporary worker force.

"What I said last time is that this bill needed more time and more work,'' Boxer said. "Well, it's gotten more time and I'm taking a look at it now. We'll see how it moves.''

Her email to me June 13th:

Thank you for contacting me to express your views on immigration reform. I appreciate hearing from you.



As you may know, the Senate recently debated S.1348, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007.



In its current form, this bill is unworkable and unfair. I am particularly troubled by its proposal to create a new guestworker program. I have always had problems with guestworker programs because I believe they lead to increased illegal immigration, a downward pressure on American wages, and a loss of workplace protections.



That is why on June 7, 2007, I joined 49 other Senators in rejecting cloture, thereby preventing the bill from proceeding to a final vote. Be assured that I will keep working to fix our broken immigration system in a manner that protects American workers and reduces illegal immigration.



Again, thank you for writing to me. Please feel free to contact me again about this or any other issue of concern to you.




Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

It should be noted she's up for re-election in 2008 also.

I have received the same answer in several occasions from Boxer and Feinstein... Same thing over and over trying to make us believe that they are actually doing something but in reality they aren't..

That is why on June 7, 2007, I joined 49 other Senators in rejecting cloture,

The only reason she rejected cloture is because the bill didn't provide chain migration, that is, so all the illegals could bring all their relatives into our country. This senator is a socialist/communist if there ever was one.

Originally Posted by Nadys

I have received the same answer in several occasions from Boxer and Feinstein... Same thing over and over trying to make us believe that they are actually doing something but in reality they aren't..

Feinstein stands proudly behind this shamesty bill, she's useless imo.
She feels safe too since she was recently re-elected.
Her last email response to me was very long but just a bunch of hogwash!
I'm done with her, waste of time.

Bombard Sen. Boxer with calls, faxes and emails! Tell her to stick up for working and middle class Americans! NO on cloture, NO on S.1639!

Tell Boxer that if Feinstein supports cloture on the bill that we will vote Boxer out of office as well. She is most likely just playing the election game. Let Boxer pressure Feinstein.